Which to use
“erklären” is a verb and “erklärte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #925
- “erklären” frequency rank
- #2,245
- “erklärte” frequency rank
- 3170
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erklären | erklärte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem etwas lehrend beschreiben, erläutern, verlautbaren; auf eine Ursache zurückführen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erklärt |
Where the eye mixes erklären and erklärte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erklären (VCCCVCVC) and erklärte (VCCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between erklären and erklärte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erklären is [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːʁən] while erklärte is [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯tə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3170, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erklären is recorded at frequency rank #925, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːʁən]. 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 3170, this pair ranks #2,000,795 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erklären vs erklärte
Shared letters: eklrä. Private to "erklären": n. Private to "erklärte": t.
"erklären" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "erklärte" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erklären" for "erklärte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erklären" or "erklärte" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erklären" 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 #2,000,795 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erklären" and "erklärte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erklärte vs erklärtes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #2,000,795 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.