erklingenvserklingtTell them apart

Which to use

“erklingen” and “erklingt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,560
“erklingen” frequency rank
#26,389
“erklingt” frequency rank
55949
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erklingen erklingt
Definition für das menschliche Ohr hörbar werden, oftmals in Form einer melodischen Tonfolge (Klang); Klänge von sich geben 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erklingen

Where the eye mixes erklingen and erklingt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
erklingen
8 ch
erklingt

Why the eye confuses erklingen with erklingt

A purely visual mix-up. erklingen ([ɛɐ̯ˈklɪŋən]) and erklingt ([ɛɐ̯ˈklɪŋt]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55949, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erklingen is recorded at frequency rank #29,560, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɪŋən]. erklingt is at rank #26,389, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɪŋt].

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 55949, this pair ranks #959,430 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erklingen vs erklingt

Shared letters: egiklnr. Private to "erklingen": -. Private to "erklingt": t.

"erklingen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "erklingt" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erklingenekrlingen · erkilngen · erkklingen · erklignen · erklinegn · erklingenn · erklinggen · erklingne
  • erklingtekrlingt · erkilngt · erkklingt · erklignt · erklinggt · erklingtt · erklinngt · erklintg

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erklingen" and "erklingt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈklɪŋən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈklɪŋt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erklingen" vs "erklingt" - which ranks higher?
"erklingt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,389 in our German list, against #29,560 for "erklingen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "erklingen" and "erklingt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erklingen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erklingt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #959,430 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erklingen" and "erklingt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erklingen vs Ettlingen". 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 #959,430 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list