erschlossenvserschossenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,700
“erschlossen” frequency rank
#4,606
“erschossen” frequency rank
17306
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erschlossen erschossen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erschließen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erschießen

Where the eye mixes erschlossen and erschossen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. erschlossen runs 11 letters (VCCCCCVCCVC) against erschossen's 10 (VCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
erschlossen
10 ch
erschossen

Why the eye confuses erschlossen with erschossen

A purely visual mix-up. erschlossen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃlɔsn̩]) and erschossen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃɔsn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erschlossen is recorded at frequency rank #12,700, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃlɔsn̩]. erschossen is at rank #4,606, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃɔsn̩].

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 17306, this pair ranks #1,928,540 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erschlossen vs erschossen

Shared letters: cehnors. Private to "erschlossen": l. Private to "erschossen": -.

"erschlossen" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVC  ·  "erschossen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erschlossen ← ercshlossen · errschlossen · erscchlossen · erschhlossen · erschllossen · erschlosen · erschlosesn · erschlossenn
  • erschossen ← ercshossen · errschossen · erscchossen · erschhossen · erschosen · erschosesn · erschossenn · erschossne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "erschlossen" for "erschossen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃlɔsn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʃɔsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erschlossen" or "erschossen"?
"erschossen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,606 in our German list, against #12,700 for "erschlossen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "erschlossen" and "erschossen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erschlossen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erschossen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,928,540 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erschlossen" and "erschossen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erschoss vs erschossen". 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 #1,928,540 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list