erstandenvserstattenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#34,632
“erstanden” frequency rank
#12,276
“erstatten” frequency rank
46908
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erstanden erstatten
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs erstehen jemandem Geld zurückgeben, das er für etwas ausgegeben hat

Where the eye mixes erstanden and erstatten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erstanden and erstatten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
erstanden
9 ch
erstatten

Look-alike desk: erstanden vs erstatten

A purely visual mix-up. erstanden ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtandn̩]) and erstatten ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtatn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46908, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erstanden is recorded at frequency rank #34,632, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtandn̩]. erstatten is at rank #12,276, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtatn̩].

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 46908, this pair ranks #1,302,841 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erstanden vs erstatten

Shared letters: aenrst. Private to "erstanden": d. Private to "erstatten": -.

"erstanden" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "erstatten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erstanden ← errstanden · ersatnden · ersstanden · erstadnen · erstandden · erstandenn · erstandne · erstanedn
  • erstatten ← errstatten · ersattten · ersstatten · erstaten · erstatetn · erstattenn · erstattne · ersttaten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erstanden" and "erstatten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtandn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtatn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erstanden" or "erstatten"?
"erstatten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,276 in our German list, against #34,632 for "erstanden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erstanden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erstatten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,302,841 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erstanden" and "erstatten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erstanden vs erstarren". 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 #1,302,841 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