Which to use
“erkranken” and “ertränken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,895
- “erkranken” frequency rank
- #48,860
- “ertränken” frequency rank
- 68755
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkranken | ertränken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | krank werden; eine Krankheit bekommen | jemanden oder etwas töten, indem man die Atmungsorgane unter Wasser hält |
Where the eye mixes erkranken and ertränken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erkranken and ertränken follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erkranken vs ertränken
A purely visual mix-up. erkranken ([ɛɐ̯ˈkʁaŋkn̩]) and ertränken ([ɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛŋkn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68755, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkranken is recorded at frequency rank #19,895, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkʁaŋkn̩]. ertränken is at rank #48,860, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛŋkn̩].
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 68755, this pair ranks #497,866 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of erkranken vs ertränken
Shared letters: eknr. Private to "erkranken": a. Private to "ertränken": tä.
"erkranken" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "ertränken" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erkranken ← ekrranken · erkarnken · erkkranken · erkraknen · erkranekn · erkrankenn · erkrankken · erkrankne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erkranken" for "ertränken" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erkranken" vs "ertränken" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "erkranken" and "ertränken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erkranken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ertränken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #497,866 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkranken" and "ertränken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ertränken vs ertrunken". 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 #497,866 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.