Which to use
“erlitten” is a verb and “erlittenen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,014
- “erlitten” frequency rank
- #36,301
- “erlittenen” frequency rank
- 45315
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlitten | erlittenen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erleiden | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erlitten |
Where the eye mixes erlitten and erlittenen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erlitten runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against erlittenen's 10 (VCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erlitten with erlittenen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erlitten is [ɛɐ̯ˈlɪtn̩] while erlittenen is [ɛɐ̯ˈlɪtənən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “erlitten” sits inside “erlittenen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlitten is recorded at frequency rank #9,014, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlɪtn̩]. erlittenen is at rank #36,301, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlɪtənən].
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 45315, this pair ranks #1,357,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erlitten vs erlittenen
Shared letters: eilnrt. Private to "erlitten": -. Private to "erlittenen": -.
"erlitten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erlittenen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erlitten ← elritten · eriltten · erliten · erlitetn · erlittenn · erlittne · erllitten · erltiten
- erlittenen ← elrittenen · erilttenen · erlitenen · erlitetnen · erlitteenn · erlittenenn · erlittenne · erlittennen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erlitten" and "erlittenen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erlitten" or "erlittenen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erlitten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlittenen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,357,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlitten" and "erlittenen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erbitten vs erlitten". 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 #1,357,207 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.