Which to use
“erklärst” is a verb and “erklärte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,390
- “erklärst” frequency rank
- #2,245
- “erklärte” frequency rank
- 28635
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erklärst | erklärte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erklären | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erklärt |
Where the eye mixes erklärst and erklärte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erklärst (VCCCVCCC) and erklärte (VCCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: erklärst vs erklärte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erklärst is [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯st] 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 28635, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erklärst is recorded at frequency rank #26,390, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯st]. 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 28635, this pair ranks #1,781,273 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erklärst vs erklärte
Shared letters: eklrtä. Private to "erklärst": s. Private to "erklärte": -.
"erklärst" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCC · "erklärte" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erklärst" and "erklärte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "erklärst" vs "erklärte" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "erklärst" and "erklärte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erklärst" 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 #1,781,273 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erklärst" and "erklärte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erklärst vs erlässt". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,781,273 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.