Which to use
“erklärten” is an adjective and “erwarten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,269
- “erklärten” frequency rank
- #1,127
- “erwarten” frequency rank
- 11396
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erklärten | erwarten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erklärt | auf jemanden oder etwas warten, dem Eintreffen von etwas entgegensehen; denken, dass etwas kommen oder passieren wird |
Where the eye mixes erklärten and erwarten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erklärten runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against erwarten's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erklärten and erwarten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erklärten is [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯tn̩] while erwarten is [ɛɐ̯ˈvaʁtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11396, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erklärten is recorded at frequency rank #10,269, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯tn̩]. erwarten is at rank #1,127, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaʁtn̩].
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 11396, this pair ranks #1,970,095 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erklärten vs erwarten
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "erklärten": klä. Private to "erwarten": aw.
"erklärten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "erwarten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erwarten ← erawrten · errwarten · erwaretn · erwarrten · erwartenn · erwartne · erwartten · erwatren
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erklärten" for "erwarten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erklärten" or "erwarten"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erklärten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwarten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,970,095 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erklärten" and "erwarten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erklärten vs erklärtes". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,970,095 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.