erscheinevserscheinenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,080
“erscheine” frequency rank
#2,146
“erscheinen” frequency rank
36226
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erscheine erscheinen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erscheinen für die Augen sichtbar werden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erscheine and erscheinen apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
erscheine
10 ch
erscheinen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erscheine ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃaɪ̯nə]) and erscheinen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃaɪ̯nən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “erscheine” sits inside “erscheinen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36226, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erscheine is recorded at frequency rank #34,080, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃaɪ̯nə]. erscheinen is at rank #2,146, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃaɪ̯nən].

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 36226, this pair ranks #1,620,930 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erscheine vs erscheinen

Shared letters: cehinrs. Private to "erscheine": -. Private to "erscheinen": -.

"erscheine" · 9 letters · shape VCCCCVVCV  ·  "erscheinen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erscheineercsheine · errscheine · ersccheine · erscehine · erscheien · erschenie · erschheine · erschiene
  • erscheinenercsheinen · errscheinen · ersccheinen · erscehinen · erscheienn · erscheinenn · erscheinne · erscheinnen

Frequency comparison

erscheine#34,080
erscheinen#2,146

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erscheine" and "erscheinen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃaɪ̯nə] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʃaɪ̯nən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erscheine" or "erscheinen"?
"erscheinen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,146 in our German list, against #34,080 for "erscheine". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering erscheine vs erscheinen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erscheine” 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