erstreckenvserstreckteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: erstrecken is a verb, erstreckte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“erstrecken” is a verb and “erstreckte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,561
“erstrecken” frequency rank
#22,710
“erstreckte” frequency rank
42271
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erstrecken erstreckte
Definition eine bestimmte räumliche Ausdehnung haben Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erstreckt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erstrecken and erstreckte apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
erstrecken
10 ch
erstreckte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erstrecken is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁɛkn̩] while erstreckte is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁɛktə]. 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 42271, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erstrecken is recorded at frequency rank #19,561, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁɛkn̩]. erstreckte is at rank #22,710, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁɛktə].

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 42271, this pair ranks #1,454,508 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erstrecken vs erstreckte

Shared letters: cekrst. Private to "erstrecken": n. Private to "erstreckte": -.

"erstrecken" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC  ·  "erstreckte" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erstreckenerrstrecken · ersrtecken · ersstrecken · erstercken · erstrceken · erstreccken · erstrecekn · erstreckenn
  • erstreckteerrstreckte · ersrteckte · ersstreckte · ersterckte · erstrcekte · erstrecckte · erstrecket · erstreckkte

Frequency comparison

erstrecken#19,561
erstreckte#22,710

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erstrecken" and "erstreckte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erstrecken" is a verb and "erstreckte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "erstrecken" or "erstreckte"?
"erstrecken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,561 in our German list, against #22,710 for "erstreckte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erstrecken vs erstreckte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “erstrecken”; for an adjective, it's “erstreckte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erstrecken” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list