Which to use
“erschreckend” and “erschreckende” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,538
- “erschreckend” frequency rank
- #32,021
- “erschreckende” frequency rank
- 41559
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erschreckend | erschreckende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Angst und Unruhigkeit versetzend | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs erschreckend |
Where the eye mixes erschreckend and erschreckende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. erschreckend runs 12 letters (VCCCCCVCCVCC) against erschreckende's 13 (VCCCCCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erschreckend with erschreckende
A purely visual mix-up. erschreckend ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩t]) and erschreckende ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩də]) 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) - “erschreckend” sits inside “erschreckende”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41559, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erschreckend is recorded at frequency rank #9,538, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩t]. 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 41559, this pair ranks #1,475,836 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erschreckend vs erschreckende
Shared letters: cdehknrs. Private to "erschreckend": -. Private to "erschreckende": -.
"erschreckend" · 12 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVCC · "erschreckende" · 13 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- erschreckend ← ercshreckend · errschreckend · erscchreckend · erscherckend · erschhreckend · erschrcekend · erschrecckend · erschreceknd
- erschreckende ← ercshreckende · errschreckende · erscchreckende · erscherckende · erschhreckende · erschrcekende · erschrecckende · erschreceknde
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erschreckend" and "erschreckende" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "erschreckend" or "erschreckende" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "erschreckend" and "erschreckende" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erschreckend" 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 #1,475,836 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erschreckend" and "erschreckende" 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 #1,475,836 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.