Which to use
“erlernen” is a verb and “erlernten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,645
- “erlernen” frequency rank
- #38,719
- “erlernten” frequency rank
- 49364
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlernen | erlernten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas begreifen und üben (lernen), meist über längere Zeit hinweg und mit dem Ziel, es zu können/beherrschen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erlernt |
Where the eye mixes erlernen and erlernten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erlernen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against erlernten's 9 (VCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erlernen with erlernten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erlernen is [ɛɐ̯ˈlɛʁnən] while erlernten is [ɛɐ̯ˈlɛʁntn̩]. 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 49364, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlernen is recorded at frequency rank #10,645, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlɛʁnən]. erlernten is at rank #38,719, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlɛʁntn̩].
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 49364, this pair ranks #1,214,275 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erlernen vs erlernten
Shared letters: elnr. Private to "erlernen": -. Private to "erlernten": t.
"erlernen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erlernten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erlernen" and "erlernten" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erlernen" vs "erlernten" - which ranks higher?
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 "erlernen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlernten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,214,275 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlernen" and "erlernten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erlernten vs ersehnten". 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 #1,214,275 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.