Which to use
“erkannte” is an adjective and “erkenne” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,418
- “erkannte” frequency rank
- #9,012
- “erkenne” frequency rank
- 15430
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkannte | erkenne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erkannt | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erkennen |
Where the eye mixes erkannte and erkenne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erkannte runs 8 letters (VCCVCCCV) against erkenne's 7 (VCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erkannte and erkenne
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erkannte is [ɛɐ̯ˈkantə] while erkenne is [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15430, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkannte is recorded at frequency rank #6,418, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkantə]. erkenne is at rank #9,012, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnə].
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 15430, this pair ranks #1,943,929 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erkannte vs erkenne
Shared letters: eknr. Private to "erkannte": at. Private to "erkenne": -.
"erkannte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV · "erkenne" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erkannte" and "erkenne" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erkannte" vs "erkenne" - which ranks higher?
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 "erkannte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erkenne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,943,929 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkannte" and "erkenne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erkenne 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 #1,943,929 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.