Which to use
“erleichtern” is a verb and “erleichterte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,462
- “erleichtern” frequency rank
- #39,320
- “erleichterte” frequency rank
- 46782
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erleichtern | erleichterte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas leichter machen, für weniger Gewicht sorgen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erleichtert |
Where the eye mixes erleichtern and erleichterte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. erleichtern runs 11 letters (VCCVVCCCVCC) against erleichterte's 12 (VCCVVCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erleichtern vs erleichterte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erleichtern is [ɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯çtɐn] while erleichterte is [ɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯çtɐtə]. 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 46782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erleichtern is recorded at frequency rank #7,462, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯çtɐn]. erleichterte is at rank #39,320, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯çtɐtə].
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 46782, this pair ranks #1,307,180 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erleichtern vs erleichterte
Shared letters: cehilrt. Private to "erleichtern": n. Private to "erleichterte": -.
"erleichtern" · 11 letters · shape VCCVVCCCVCC · "erleichterte" · 12 letters · shape VCCVVCCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- erleichtern ← elreichtern · erelichtern · erlecihtern · erleicchtern · erleichetrn · erleichhtern · erleichtenr · erleichternn
- erleichterte ← elreichterte · erelichterte · erlecihterte · erleicchterte · erleichetrte · erleichhterte · erleichteret · erleichterrte
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erleichtern" and "erleichterte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "erleichtern" vs "erleichterte" - which ranks higher?
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 "erleichtern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erleichterte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,307,180 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erleichtern" and "erleichterte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erleichtern vs erleuchten". 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 #1,307,180 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.