Which to use
“erkennt” and “ernennt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,761
- “erkennt” frequency rank
- #34,630
- “ernennt” frequency rank
- 37391
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkennt | ernennt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erkennen | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ernennen |
Where the eye mixes erkennt and ernennt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erkennt and ernennt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erkennt vs ernennt
A purely visual mix-up. erkennt ([ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnt]) and ernennt ([ɛɐ̯ˈnɛnt]) 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 a single letter - k in “erkennt” becomes n in “ernennt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37391, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkennt is recorded at frequency rank #2,761, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnt]. ernennt is at rank #34,630, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛnt].
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 37391, this pair ranks #1,591,497 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erkennt vs ernennt
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "erkennt": k. Private to "ernennt": -.
"erkennt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "ernennt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erkennt" for "ernennt" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erkennt" or "ernennt" 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 "erkennt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ernennt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,591,497 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkennt" and "ernennt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ernennt vs Ernest". 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 #1,591,497 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.