erledigenvserledigtWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: erledigen is a verb, erledigt is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“erledigen” is a verb and “erledigt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,078
“erledigen” frequency rank
#3,113
“erledigt” frequency rank
8191
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erledigen erledigt
Definition etwas fertig machen; zu Ende bringen; eine Arbeit tun, die noch aussteht beendet, fertiggestellt, zu den Akten gelegt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erledigen and erledigt apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
erledigen
8 ch
erledigt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erledigen is [ɛɐ̯ˈleːdɪɡn̩] while erledigt is [ɛɐ̯ˈleːdɪçt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8191, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erledigen is recorded at frequency rank #5,078, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːdɪɡn̩]. erledigt is at rank #3,113, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːdɪçt].

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 8191, this pair ranks #1,985,268 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erledigen vs erledigt

Shared letters: degilr. Private to "erledigen": n. Private to "erledigt": t.

"erledigen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "erledigt" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erledigenelredigen · ereldigen · erldeigen · erleddigen · erledgien · erlediegn · erledigenn · erlediggen
  • erledigtelredigt · ereldigt · erldeigt · erleddigt · erledgit · erlediggt · erledigtt · erleditg

Frequency comparison

erledigen#5,078
erledigt#3,113

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erledigen" and "erledigt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erledigen" is a verb and "erledigt" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "erledigen" or "erledigt"?
"erledigt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,113 in our German list, against #5,078 for "erledigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erledigen vs erledigt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “erledigen”; for an adjective, it's “erledigt”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erledigen” 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