Which to use
“erlangt” is a verb and “erlangte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,861
- “erlangt” frequency rank
- #17,280
- “erlangte” frequency rank
- 29141
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlangt | erlangte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erlangen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erlangt |
Where the eye mixes erlangt and erlangte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erlangt runs 7 letters (VCCVCCC) against erlangte's 8 (VCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erlangt with erlangte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erlangt is [ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋt] while erlangte is [ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “erlangt” sits inside “erlangte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29141, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlangt is recorded at frequency rank #11,861, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋt]. 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 29141, this pair ranks #1,772,247 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erlangt vs erlangte
Shared letters: aeglnrt. Private to "erlangt": -. Private to "erlangte": -.
"erlangt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "erlangte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erlangt" and "erlangte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "erlangt" or "erlangte" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erlangt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlangte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,772,247 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlangt" and "erlangte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erlangt vs erliegt". 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 #1,772,247 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.