erkanntvsernenntConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,711
“erkannt” frequency rank
#34,630
“ernennt” frequency rank
37341
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erkannt ernennt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erkennen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ernennen

Where the eye mixes erkannt and ernennt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erkannt and ernennt 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
ernennt

Look-alike desk: erkannt vs ernennt

A purely visual mix-up. erkannt ([ɛɐ̯ˈkant]) and ernennt ([ɛɐ̯ˈnɛnt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37341, 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]. ernennt is at rank #34,630, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛnt].

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 37341, this pair ranks #1,592,763 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erkannt vs ernennt

Shared letters: enrt. Private to "erkannt": ak. Private to "ernennt": -.

"erkannt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC  ·  "ernennt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erkanntekrannt · eraknnt · erkanntt · erkant · erkantn · erkkannt · erknant · errkannt
  • ernenntenrennt · erennnt · ernenntt · ernent · ernentn · ernnennt · ernnent · errnennt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "erkannt" for "ernennt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈkant] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛnt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erkannt" vs "ernennt" - which ranks higher?
"erkannt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,711 in our German list, against #34,630 for "ernennt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erkannt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ernennt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,592,763 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erkannt" and "ernennt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ernennt vs Ernest". 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 #1,592,763 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