Which to use
“erschrecken” and “erschrocken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,347
- “erschrecken” frequency rank
- #13,814
- “erschrocken” frequency rank
- 29161
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erschrecken | erschrocken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem einen Schrecken einflößen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erschrecken |
Where the eye mixes erschrecken and erschrocken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. erschrecken and erschrocken follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between erschrecken and erschrocken
A purely visual mix-up. erschrecken ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩]) and erschrocken ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɔkn̩]) 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 a single letter - e in “erschrecken” becomes o in “erschrocken”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29161, 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]. erschrocken is at rank #13,814, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɔkn̩].
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 29161, this pair ranks #1,771,890 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erschrecken vs erschrocken
Shared letters: cehknrs. Private to "erschrecken": -. Private to "erschrocken": o.
"erschrecken" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVC · "erschrocken" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erschrecken ← ercshrecken · errschrecken · erscchrecken · erschercken · erschhrecken · erschrceken · erschreccken · erschrecekn
- erschrocken ← ercshrocken · errschrocken · erscchrocken · erschhrocken · erschorcken · erschrcoken · erschroccken · erschrocekn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erschrecken" and "erschrocken" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erschrecken" or "erschrocken"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erschrecken" and "erschrocken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erschrecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erschrocken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,771,890 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erschrecken" and "erschrocken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erschrecken 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 #1,771,890 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.