Which to use
“erlangen” is a verb and “erlangte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,885
- “erlangen” frequency rank
- #17,280
- “erlangte” frequency rank
- 21165
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlangen | erlangte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Besitz nehmen, habhaft werden, erreichen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erlangt |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erlangen and erlangte apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
erlangen and erlangte form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21165, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlangen is recorded at frequency rank #3,885, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋən]. erlangte is at rank #17,280, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋtə].
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 21165, this pair ranks #1,889,420 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erlangen" and "erlangte" be used interchangeably?
Remembering erlangen vs erlangte
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “erlangen”; for an adjective, it's “erlangte”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erlangen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable