Which to use
“erkenne” and “erkennen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,012
- “erkenne” frequency rank
- #1,054
- “erkennen” frequency rank
- 10066
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkenne | erkennen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erkennen | etwas oder jemanden so deutlich wahrnehmen, dass man weiß, was oder wer es ist (im Sinne von etwas wiedererkennen) |
Where the eye mixes erkenne and erkennen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses erkenne with erkennen
A purely visual mix-up. erkenne ([ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnə]) and erkennen ([ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnən]) 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) - “erkenne” sits inside “erkennen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10066, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkenne is recorded at frequency rank #9,012, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnə]. erkennen is at rank #1,054, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnən].
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 10066, this pair ranks #1,976,954 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erkenne vs erkennen
Shared letters: eknr. Private to "erkenne": -. Private to "erkennen": -.
"erkenne" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "erkennen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erkenne" and "erkennen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "erkenne" or "erkennen" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erkenne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erkennen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,976,954 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkenne" and "erkennen" 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 #1,976,954 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.