Which to use
“erkläre” and “erklären” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,013
- “erkläre” frequency rank
- #925
- “erklären” frequency rank
- 9938
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkläre | erklären |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erklären | jemandem etwas lehrend beschreiben, erläutern, verlautbaren; auf eine Ursache zurückführen |
Where the eye mixes erkläre and erklären
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erkläre runs 7 letters (VCCCVCV) against erklären's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erkläre and erklären
A purely visual mix-up. erkläre ([ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːʁə]) and erklären ([ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːʁən]) 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) - “erkläre” sits inside “erklären”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9938, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkläre is recorded at frequency rank #9,013, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːʁə]. erklären is at rank #925, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːʁən].
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 9938, this pair ranks #1,977,556 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erkläre vs erklären
Shared letters: eklrä. Private to "erkläre": -. Private to "erklären": n.
"erkläre" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV · "erklären" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erkläre" and "erklären" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erkläre" or "erklären"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erkläre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erklären" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,977,556 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkläre" and "erklären" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erkläre vs erklärtes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,977,556 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.