Which to use
“erlangten” and “ernannten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,638
- “erlangten” frequency rank
- #29,112
- “ernannten” frequency rank
- 57750
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlangten | ernannten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erlangt | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs ernannt |
Where the eye mixes erlangten and ernannten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erlangten and ernannten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between erlangten and ernannten
A purely visual mix-up. erlangten ([ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋtn̩]) and ernannten ([ɛɐ̯ˈnantn̩]) 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 57750, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlangten is recorded at frequency rank #28,638, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋtn̩]. ernannten is at rank #29,112, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈnantn̩].
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 57750, this pair ranks #889,211 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erlangten vs ernannten
Shared letters: aenrt. Private to "erlangten": gl. Private to "ernannten": -.
"erlangten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC · "ernannten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erlangten" for "ernannten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erlangten" or "ernannten" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erlangten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ernannten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #889,211 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlangten" and "ernannten" 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 #889,211 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.