Which to use
“erstellen” is a verb and “erstellte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,268
- “erstellen” frequency rank
- #16,411
- “erstellte” frequency rank
- 20679
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstellen | erstellte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas erbauen, errichten, herstellen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erstellt |
Where the eye mixes erstellen and erstellte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erstellen (VCCCVCCVC) and erstellte (VCCCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses erstellen with erstellte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erstellen is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛlən] while erstellte is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛltə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erstellen is recorded at frequency rank #4,268, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛlən]. erstellte is at rank #16,411, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛltə].
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 20679, this pair ranks #1,895,009 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erstellen vs erstellte
Shared letters: elrst. Private to "erstellen": n. Private to "erstellte": -.
"erstellen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "erstellte" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erstellen" and "erstellte" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erstellen" vs "erstellte" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erstellen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erstellte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,895,009 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstellen" and "erstellte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einstellte vs erstellte". 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 #1,895,009 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.