Which to use
“erkrankt” is a verb and “erkrankten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,274
- “erkrankt” frequency rank
- #12,902
- “erkrankten” frequency rank
- 25176
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkrankt | erkrankten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erkranken | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erkrankt |
Where the eye mixes erkrankt and erkrankten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erkrankt runs 8 letters (VCCCVCCC) against erkrankten's 10 (VCCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erkrankt and erkrankten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erkrankt is [ɛɐ̯ˈkʁaŋkt] while erkrankten is [ɛɐ̯ˈkʁaŋktn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “erkrankt” sits inside “erkrankten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25176, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkrankt is recorded at frequency rank #12,274, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkʁaŋkt]. erkrankten is at rank #12,902, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkʁaŋktn̩].
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 25176, this pair ranks #1,837,085 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erkrankt vs erkrankten
Shared letters: aeknrt. Private to "erkrankt": -. Private to "erkrankten": -.
"erkrankt" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCC · "erkrankten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erkrankt ← ekrrankt · erkarnkt · erkkrankt · erkraknt · erkrankkt · erkranktt · erkrannkt · erkrantk
- erkrankten ← ekrrankten · erkarnkten · erkkrankten · erkraknten · erkranketn · erkrankkten · erkranktenn · erkranktne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erkrankt" for "erkrankten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erkrankt" vs "erkrankten" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erkrankt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erkrankten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,837,085 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkrankt" and "erkrankten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erkrankten vs ertränken". 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 #1,837,085 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.