Which to use
“erschrecken” is a verb and “erschreckende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,347
- “erschrecken” frequency rank
- #32,021
- “erschreckende” frequency rank
- 47368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erschrecken | erschreckende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem einen Schrecken einflößen | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs erschreckend |
Where the eye mixes erschrecken and erschreckende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses erschrecken with erschreckende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erschrecken is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩] while erschreckende is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “erschrecken” sits inside “erschreckende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erschrecken is recorded at frequency rank #15,347, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩]. erschreckende is at rank #32,021, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩də].
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 47368, this pair ranks #1,286,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erschrecken vs erschreckende
Shared letters: cehknrs. Private to "erschrecken": -. Private to "erschreckende": d.
"erschrecken" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVC · "erschreckende" · 13 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- erschrecken ← ercshrecken · errschrecken · erscchrecken · erschercken · erschhrecken · erschrceken · erschreccken · erschrecekn
- erschreckende ← ercshreckende · errschreckende · erscchreckende · erscherckende · erschhreckende · erschrcekende · erschrecckende · erschreceknde
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erschrecken" and "erschreckende" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erschrecken" vs "erschreckende" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erschrecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erschreckende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,286,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erschrecken" and "erschreckende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erschreckend vs erschreckende". 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 #1,286,713 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.