Which to use
“erlangt” is a verb and “erlangten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,861
- “erlangt” frequency rank
- #28,638
- “erlangten” frequency rank
- 40499
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlangt | erlangten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erlangen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erlangt |
Where the eye mixes erlangt and erlangten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erlangt runs 7 letters (VCCVCCC) against erlangten's 9 (VCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erlangt with erlangten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erlangt is [ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋt] while erlangten is [ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “erlangt” sits inside “erlangten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40499, 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]. erlangten is at rank #28,638, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋtn̩].
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 40499, this pair ranks #1,506,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erlangt vs erlangten
Shared letters: aeglnrt. Private to "erlangt": -. Private to "erlangten": -.
"erlangt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "erlangten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erlangt" and "erlangten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "erlangt" or "erlangten" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erlangt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlangten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,506,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlangt" and "erlangten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erhängen vs erlangten". 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 #1,506,691 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.