erlöschenvsErlösenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: erlöschen is a verb, Erlösen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“erlöschen” is a verb and “Erlösen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,571
“erlöschen” frequency rank
#23,504
“Erlösen” frequency rank
57075
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erlöschen Erlösen
Definition als Vulkan keine Aktivität mehr zeigen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Erlös

Where the eye mixes erlöschen and Erlösen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erlöschen runs 9 letters (VCCVCCCVC) against Erlösen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
erlöschen
7 ch
Erlösen

Why the eye confuses erlöschen with Erlösen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erlöschen is [ɛɐ̯ˈlœʃn̩] while Erlösen is [ɛɐ̯ˈløːzn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erlöschen is recorded at frequency rank #33,571, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlœʃn̩]. Erlösen is at rank #23,504, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈløːzn̩].

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 57075, this pair ranks #915,466 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erlöschen vs Erlösen

Shared letters: elnrsö. Private to "erlöschen": ch. Private to "Erlösen": -.

"erlöschen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC  ·  "Erlösen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "erlöschen" for "Erlösen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erlöschen" is a verb and "Erlösen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "erlöschen" vs "Erlösen" - which ranks higher?
"Erlösen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,504 in our German list, against #33,571 for "erlöschen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erlöschen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Erlösen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #915,466 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erlöschen" and "Erlösen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erhaschen vs erlöschen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #915,466 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list