Which to use
“erklang” and “erkläre” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,915
- “erklang” frequency rank
- #9,013
- “erkläre” frequency rank
- 45928
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erklang | erkläre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erklingen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erklären |
Where the eye mixes erklang and erkläre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. erklang (VCCCVCC) and erkläre (VCCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses erklang with erkläre
A purely visual mix-up. erklang ([ɛɐ̯ˈklaŋ]) and erkläre ([ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːʁə]) 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 45928, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erklang is recorded at frequency rank #36,915, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklaŋ]. erkläre is at rank #9,013, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːʁə].
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 45928, this pair ranks #1,336,379 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erklang vs erkläre
Shared letters: eklr. Private to "erklang": agn. Private to "erkläre": ä.
"erklang" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC · "erkläre" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- erklang ← ekrlang · erkalng · erkklang · erklagn · erklangg · erklanng · erkllang · erklnag
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erklang" for "erkläre" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erklang" or "erkläre" 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 "erklang" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erkläre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,336,379 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erklang" and "erkläre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erklang vs erklingt". 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 #1,336,379 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.