erkanntvsernanntConfusable pair

Which to use

“erkannt” and “ernannt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,711
“erkannt” frequency rank
#6,531
“ernannt” frequency rank
9242
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erkannt ernannt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erkennen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ernennen

Where the eye mixes erkannt and ernannt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erkannt and ernannt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
erkannt
7 ch
ernannt

Look-alike desk: erkannt vs ernannt

A purely visual mix-up. erkannt ([ɛɐ̯ˈkant]) and ernannt ([ɛɐ̯ˈnant]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - k in “erkannt” becomes n in “ernannt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9242, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erkannt is recorded at frequency rank #2,711, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkant]. ernannt is at rank #6,531, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈnant].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 9242, this pair ranks #1,980,829 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erkannt vs ernannt

Shared letters: aenrt. Private to "erkannt": k. Private to "ernannt": -.

"erkannt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC  ·  "ernannt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erkanntekrannt · eraknnt · erkanntt · erkant · erkantn · erkkannt · erknant · errkannt
  • ernanntenrannt · erannnt · ernanntt · ernant · ernantn · ernnannt · ernnant · errnannt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "erkannt" for "ernannt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈkant] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈnant]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erkannt" vs "ernannt" - which ranks higher?
"erkannt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,711 in our German list, against #6,531 for "ernannt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erkannt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ernannt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,980,829 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erkannt" and "ernannt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ernannt vs ernennt". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,980,829 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list