Which to use
“erklär” and “erkläre” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,077
- “erklär” frequency rank
- #9,013
- “erkläre” frequency rank
- 24090
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erklär | erkläre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erklären | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erklären |
Where the eye mixes erklär and erkläre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erklär runs 6 letters (VCCCVC) against erkläre's 7 (VCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erklär with erkläre
A purely visual mix-up. erklär ([ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯]) 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 differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “erklär” sits inside “erkläre”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24090, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erklär is recorded at frequency rank #15,077, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯]. 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 24090, this pair ranks #1,852,495 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erklär vs erkläre
Shared letters: eklrä. Private to "erklär": -. Private to "erkläre": -.
"erklär" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC · "erkläre" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erklär" and "erkläre" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "erklär" vs "erkläre" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erklär" 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 #1,852,495 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erklär" and "erkläre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erkläre vs erklärtes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,852,495 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.