Which to use
“erkannten” and “erwähnten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,874
- “erkannten” frequency rank
- #8,203
- “erwähnten” frequency rank
- 27077
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkannten | erwähnten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erkannt | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erwähnt |
Where the eye mixes erkannten and erwähnten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erkannten and erwähnten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses erkannten with erwähnten
A purely visual mix-up. erkannten ([ɛɐ̯ˈkantn̩]) and erwähnten ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːntn̩]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27077, 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]. erwähnten is at rank #8,203, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːntn̩].
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 27077, this pair ranks #1,807,721 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erkannten vs erwähnten
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "erkannten": ak. Private to "erwähnten": hwä.
"erkannten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC · "erwähnten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erkannten ← ekrannten · eraknnten · erkannetn · erkanntenn · erkanntne · erkanntten · erkanten · erkantnen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erkannten" for "erwähnten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erkannten" or "erwähnten"?
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 "erkannten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwähnten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,807,721 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkannten" and "erwähnten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ergänzten vs erkannten". 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 #1,807,721 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.