Which to use
“erkannten” and “erkrankten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,874
- “erkannten” frequency rank
- #12,902
- “erkrankten” frequency rank
- 31776
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkannten | erkrankten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erkannt | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erkrankt |
Where the eye mixes erkannten and erkrankten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erkannten runs 9 letters (VCCVCCCVC) against erkrankten's 10 (VCCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erkannten and erkrankten
A purely visual mix-up. erkannten ([ɛɐ̯ˈkantn̩]) and erkrankten ([ɛɐ̯ˈkʁaŋktn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31776, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkannten is recorded at frequency rank #18,874, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkantn̩]. erkrankten is at rank #12,902, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkʁaŋktn̩].
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 31776, this pair ranks #1,721,305 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erkannten vs erkrankten
Shared letters: aeknrt. Private to "erkannten": -. Private to "erkrankten": -.
"erkannten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC · "erkrankten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erkannten ← ekrannten · eraknnten · erkannetn · erkanntenn · erkanntne · erkanntten · erkanten · erkantnen
- erkrankten ← ekrrankten · erkarnkten · erkkrankten · erkraknten · erkranketn · erkrankkten · erkranktenn · erkranktne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erkannten" and "erkrankten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "erkannten" or "erkrankten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erkannten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erkrankten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,721,305 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkannten" and "erkrankten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erkrankten vs ertränken". 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 #1,721,305 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.