ermahntvsernährtConfusable pair

Which to use

“ermahnt” and “ernährt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#30,538
“ermahnt” frequency rank
#14,057
“ernährt” frequency rank
44595
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ermahnt ernährt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ermahnen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ernähren

Where the eye mixes ermahnt and ernährt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ermahnt and ernährt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
ermahnt
7 ch
ernährt

Look-alike desk: ermahnt vs ernährt

A purely visual mix-up. ermahnt ([ɛɐ̯ˈmaːnt]) and ernährt ([ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːɐ̯t]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ermahnt is recorded at frequency rank #30,538, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈmaːnt]. ernährt is at rank #14,057, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːɐ̯t].

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 44595, this pair ranks #1,381,089 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ermahnt vs ernährt

Shared letters: ehnrt. Private to "ermahnt": am. Private to "ernährt": ä.

"ermahnt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC  ·  "ernährt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ermahntemrahnt · eramhnt · ermahhnt · ermahnnt · ermahntt · ermahtn · ermanht · ermhant

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ermahnt" for "ernährt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈmaːnt] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ermahnt" or "ernährt"?
"ernährt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,057 in our German list, against #30,538 for "ermahnt". 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 "ermahnt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ernährt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,381,089 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ermahnt" and "ernährt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ermahnt vs erwähnst". 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 #1,381,089 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