Which to use
“erschweren” and “erschwert” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,795
- “erschweren” frequency rank
- #10,270
- “erschwert” frequency rank
- 25065
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erschweren | erschwert |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas schwieriger machen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erschweren |
Where the eye mixes erschweren and erschwert
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erschweren runs 10 letters (VCCCCCVCVC) against erschwert's 9 (VCCCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erschweren with erschwert
A purely visual mix-up. erschweren ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃveːʁən]) and erschwert ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃveːɐ̯t]) 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 25065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erschweren is recorded at frequency rank #14,795, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃveːʁən]. erschwert is at rank #10,270, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃveːɐ̯t].
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 25065, this pair ranks #1,838,661 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erschweren vs erschwert
Shared letters: cehrsw. Private to "erschweren": n. Private to "erschwert": t.
"erschweren" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCCVCVC · "erschwert" · 9 letters · shape VCCCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erschweren ← ercshweren · errschweren · erscchweren · erschewren · erschhweren · erschweern · erschwerenn · erschwerne
- erschwert ← ercshwert · errschwert · erscchwert · erschewrt · erschhwert · erschwerrt · erschwertt · erschwetr
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erschweren" and "erschwert" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erschweren" or "erschwert"?
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 "erschweren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erschwert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,838,661 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erschweren" and "erschwert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erschweren vs erschwerte". 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 #1,838,661 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.