Which to use
“ermöglichen” is a verb and “ermöglichten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,818
- “ermöglichen” frequency rank
- #24,700
- “ermöglichten” frequency rank
- 27518
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ermöglichen | ermöglichten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Voraussetzungen für etwas herstellen; etwas möglich machen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs ermöglicht |
Where the eye mixes ermöglichen and ermöglichten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. ermöglichen runs 11 letters (VCCVCCVCCVC) against ermöglichten's 12 (VCCVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ermöglichen vs ermöglichten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ermöglichen is [ɛɐ̯ˈmøːklɪçn̩] while ermöglichten is [ɛɐ̯ˈmøːklɪçtn̩]. 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 27518, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ermöglichen is recorded at frequency rank #2,818, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈmøːklɪçn̩]. ermöglichten is at rank #24,700, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈmøːklɪçtn̩].
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 27518, this pair ranks #1,800,479 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ermöglichen vs ermöglichten
Shared letters: ceghilmnrö. Private to "ermöglichen": -. Private to "ermöglichten": t.
"ermöglichen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC · "ermöglichten" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ermöglichen" for "ermöglichten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ermöglichen" or "ermöglichten"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "ermöglichen" and "ermöglichten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ermöglichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ermöglichten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,800,479 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ermöglichen" and "ermöglichten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ermöglichte vs ermöglichten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,800,479 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.