Which to use
“erklärt” is a verb and “erklärten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #760
- “erklärt” frequency rank
- #10,269
- “erklärten” frequency rank
- 11029
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erklärt | erklärten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erklären | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erklärt |
Where the eye mixes erklärt and erklärten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erklärt runs 7 letters (VCCCVCC) against erklärten's 9 (VCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erklärt vs erklärten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erklärt is [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯t] while erklärten is [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯tn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “erklärt” sits inside “erklärten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11029, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erklärt is recorded at frequency rank #760, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯t]. erklärten is at rank #10,269, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯tn̩].
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 11029, this pair ranks #1,972,068 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erklärt vs erklärten
Shared letters: eklrtä. Private to "erklärt": -. Private to "erklärten": n.
"erklärt" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC · "erklärten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erklärt" for "erklärten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erklärt" or "erklärten"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "erklärt" and "erklärten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erklärt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erklärten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,972,068 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erklärt" and "erklärten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erklärten vs erklärtes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,972,068 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.