Which to use
“erklär” is a verb and “erklärte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,077
- “erklär” frequency rank
- #2,245
- “erklärte” frequency rank
- 17322
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erklär | erklärte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erklären | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erklärt |
Where the eye mixes erklär and erklärte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erklär runs 6 letters (VCCCVC) against erklärte's 8 (VCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erklär and erklärte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erklär is [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯] while erklärte is [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯tə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “erklär” sits inside “erklärte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17322, 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]. erklärte is at rank #2,245, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯tə].
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 17322, this pair ranks #1,928,407 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erklär vs erklärte
Shared letters: eklrä. Private to "erklär": -. Private to "erklärte": t.
"erklär" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC · "erklärte" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erklär" for "erklärte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erklär" or "erklärte"?
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 "erklär" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erklärte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,928,407 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erklär" and "erklärte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erklang vs erklär". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,928,407 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.