ermöglichtvsermöglichtenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ermöglicht is a verb, ermöglichten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ermöglicht” is a verb and “ermöglichten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,646
“ermöglicht” frequency rank
#24,700
“ermöglichten” frequency rank
27346
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ermöglicht ermöglichten
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ermöglichen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs ermöglicht

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ermöglicht and ermöglichten apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
ermöglicht
12 ch
ermöglichten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ermöglicht is [ɛɐ̯ˈmøːklɪçt] while ermöglichten is [ɛɐ̯ˈmøːklɪçtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ermöglicht” sits inside “ermöglichten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27346, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ermöglicht is recorded at frequency rank #2,646, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈmøːklɪçt]. 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 27346, this pair ranks #1,803,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ermöglicht vs ermöglichten

Shared letters: ceghilmrtö. Private to "ermöglicht": -. Private to "ermöglichten": n.

"ermöglicht" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCC  ·  "ermöglichten" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCVC

Frequency comparison

ermöglicht#2,646
ermöglichten#24,700

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ermöglicht" and "ermöglichten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ermöglicht" is a verb and "ermöglichten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ermöglicht" or "ermöglichten"?
"ermöglicht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,646 in our German list, against #24,700 for "ermöglichten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ermöglicht vs ermöglichten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “ermöglicht”; for an adjective, it's “ermöglichten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ermöglicht” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list