Which to use
“erscheinen” is a verb and “Erscheinung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,146
- “erscheinen” frequency rank
- #6,179
- “Erscheinung” frequency rank
- 8325
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erscheinen | Erscheinung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | für die Augen sichtbar werden | ein Umstand, der mit den menschlichen Sinnen wahrgenommen wird |
Where the eye mixes erscheinen and Erscheinung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. erscheinen runs 10 letters (VCCCCVVCVC) against Erscheinung's 11 (VCCCCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erscheinen vs Erscheinung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erscheinen is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃaɪ̯nən] while Erscheinung is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃaɪ̯nʊŋ]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erscheinen is recorded at frequency rank #2,146, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃaɪ̯nən]. Erscheinung is at rank #6,179, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃaɪ̯nʊŋ].
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 8325, this pair ranks #1,984,747 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erscheinen vs Erscheinung
Shared letters: cehinrs. Private to "erscheinen": -. Private to "Erscheinung": gu.
"erscheinen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVVCVC · "Erscheinung" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erscheinen ← ercsheinen · errscheinen · ersccheinen · erscehinen · erscheienn · erscheinenn · erscheinne · erscheinnen
- Erscheinung ← ercsheinung · errscheinung · ersccheinung · erscehinung · erscheinnug · erscheinnung · erscheinugn · erscheinungg
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erscheinen" and "Erscheinung" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "erscheinen" or "Erscheinung" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erscheinen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erscheinung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,984,747 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erscheinen" and "Erscheinung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erscheine vs erscheinen". 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 #1,984,747 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.