erkundenvserrungenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,860
“erkunden” frequency rank
#19,559
“errungen” frequency rank
31419
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erkunden errungen
Definition etwas genauer ansehen/untersuchen und dadurch neues Wissen erwerben Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erringen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erkunden and errungen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
erkunden
8 ch
errungen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erkunden ([ɛɐ̯ˈkʊndn̩]) and errungen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʁʊŋən]) 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 31419, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erkunden is recorded at frequency rank #11,860, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkʊndn̩]. errungen is at rank #19,559, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʁʊŋən].

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 31419, this pair ranks #1,728,496 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erkunden vs errungen

Shared letters: enru. Private to "erkunden": dk. Private to "errungen": g.

"erkunden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "errungen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erkundenekrunden · erkkunden · erknuden · erkudnen · erkundden · erkundenn · erkundne · erkunedn
  • errungenerrnugen · errugnen · errunegn · errungenn · errunggen · errungne · errunngen · erungen

Frequency comparison

erkunden#11,860
errungen#19,559

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erkunden" and "errungen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈkʊndn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʁʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erkunden" or "errungen"?
"erkunden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,860 in our German list, against #19,559 for "errungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erkunden vs errungen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erkunden” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list