Which to use
“erlitt” and “erlitten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,363
- “erlitt” frequency rank
- #9,014
- “erlitten” frequency rank
- 18377
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlitt | erlitten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erleiden | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erleiden |
Where the eye mixes erlitt and erlitten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erlitt runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against erlitten's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erlitt with erlitten
A purely visual mix-up. erlitt ([ɛɐ̯ˈlɪt]) and erlitten ([ɛɐ̯ˈlɪtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “erlitt” sits inside “erlitten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlitt is recorded at frequency rank #9,363, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlɪt]. erlitten is at rank #9,014, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlɪtn̩].
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 18377, this pair ranks #1,918,830 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erlitt vs erlitten
Shared letters: eilrt. Private to "erlitt": -. Private to "erlitten": n.
"erlitt" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "erlitten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erlitt" and "erlitten" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erlitt" vs "erlitten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erlitt" and "erlitten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erlitt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlitten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,918,830 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlitt" and "erlitten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erliegt vs erlitt". 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 #1,918,830 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.