Which to use
“erlischt” is a verb and “erwischte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,533
- “erlischt” frequency rank
- #23,923
- “erwischte” frequency rank
- 49456
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlischt | erwischte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erlöschen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erwischt |
Where the eye mixes erlischt and erwischte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erlischt runs 8 letters (VCCVCCCC) against erwischte's 9 (VCCVCCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erlischt and erwischte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erlischt is [ɛɐ̯ˈlɪʃt] while erwischte is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃtə]. 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 49456, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlischt is recorded at frequency rank #25,533, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlɪʃt]. erwischte is at rank #23,923, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃtə].
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 49456, this pair ranks #1,210,835 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erlischt vs erwischte
Shared letters: cehirst. Private to "erlischt": l. Private to "erwischte": w.
"erlischt" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCC · "erwischte" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erlischt" for "erwischte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erlischt" vs "erwischte" - 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 "erlischt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwischte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,210,835 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlischt" and "erwischte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwischte vs erwünschte". 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 #1,210,835 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.