erkennbarvserkennbareWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,267
“erkennbar” frequency rank
#25,116
“erkennbare” frequency rank
29383
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erkennbar erkennbare
Definition so deutlich, dass man weiß, was man vor seinen Augen hat Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erkennbar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erkennbar and erkennbare apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
erkennbar
10 ch
erkennbare

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erkennbar ([ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnbaːɐ̯]) and erkennbare ([ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnbaːʁə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “erkennbar” sits inside “erkennbare”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29383, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erkennbar is recorded at frequency rank #4,267, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnbaːɐ̯]. erkennbare is at rank #25,116, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnbaːʁə].

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 29383, this pair ranks #1,767,795 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erkennbar vs erkennbare

Shared letters: abeknr. Private to "erkennbar": -. Private to "erkennbare": -.

"erkennbar" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC  ·  "erkennbare" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erkennbarekrennbar · ereknnbar · erkenbar · erkenbnar · erkennabr · erkennbarr · erkennbbar · erkennbra
  • erkennbareekrennbare · ereknnbare · erkenbare · erkenbnare · erkennabre · erkennbaer · erkennbarre · erkennbbare

Frequency comparison

erkennbar#4,267
erkennbare#25,116

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erkennbar" and "erkennbare" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnbaːɐ̯] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnbaːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erkennbar" or "erkennbare"?
"erkennbar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,267 in our German list, against #25,116 for "erkennbare". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erkennbar vs erkennbare

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erkennbar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list