Which to use
“ernährt” is a verb and “erwählt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,057
- “ernährt” frequency rank
- #26,395
- “erwählt” frequency rank
- 40452
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ernährt | erwählt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ernähren | für eine bestimmte Aufgabe ausgesucht, bevorzugt |
Where the eye mixes ernährt and erwählt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. ernährt and erwählt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: ernährt vs erwählt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ernährt is [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːɐ̯t] while erwählt is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40452, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ernährt is recorded at frequency rank #14,057, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːɐ̯t]. erwählt is at rank #26,395, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːlt].
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 40452, this pair ranks #1,508,078 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ernährt vs erwählt
Shared letters: ehrtä. Private to "ernährt": n. Private to "erwählt": lw.
"ernährt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "erwählt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ernährt" and "erwählt" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ernährt" or "erwählt"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ernährt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwählt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,508,078 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ernährt" and "erwählt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwählt vs erwähnst". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,508,078 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.