Which to use
“erkrankten” is an adjective and “ertränken” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,902
- “erkrankten” frequency rank
- #48,860
- “ertränken” frequency rank
- 61762
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkrankten | ertränken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erkrankt | jemanden oder etwas töten, indem man die Atmungsorgane unter Wasser hält |
Where the eye mixes erkrankten and ertränken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erkrankten runs 10 letters (VCCCVCCCVC) against ertränken's 9 (VCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erkrankten with ertränken
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erkrankten is [ɛɐ̯ˈkʁaŋktn̩] while ertränken is [ɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛŋkn̩]. 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 61762, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkrankten is recorded at frequency rank #12,902, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkʁaŋktn̩]. 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 61762, this pair ranks #737,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erkrankten vs ertränken
Shared letters: eknrt. Private to "erkrankten": a. Private to "ertränken": ä.
"erkrankten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCCVC · "ertränken" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erkrankten ← ekrrankten · erkarnkten · erkkrankten · erkraknten · erkranketn · erkrankkten · erkranktenn · erkranktne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erkrankten" for "ertränken" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erkrankten" or "ertränken"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "erkrankten" and "ertränken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erkrankten" 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 #737,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkrankten" 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 #737,618 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.