erstrecktvserstreckteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#7,167
“erstreckt” frequency rank
#22,710
“erstreckte” frequency rank
29877
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erstreckt erstreckte
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erstrecken Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erstreckt

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
erstreckt
10 ch
erstreckte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erstreckt is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁɛkt] while erstreckte is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁɛktə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “erstreckt” sits inside “erstreckte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29877, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erstreckt is recorded at frequency rank #7,167, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁɛkt]. 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 29877, this pair ranks #1,758,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erstreckt vs erstreckte

Shared letters: cekrst. Private to "erstreckt": -. Private to "erstreckte": -.

"erstreckt" · 9 letters · shape VCCCCVCCC  ·  "erstreckte" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erstreckterrstreckt · ersrteckt · ersstreckt · ersterckt · erstrcekt · erstrecckt · erstreckkt · erstrecktt
  • erstreckteerrstreckte · ersrteckte · ersstreckte · ersterckte · erstrcekte · erstrecckte · erstrecket · erstreckkte

Frequency comparison

erstreckt#7,167
erstreckte#22,710

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erstreckt" and "erstreckte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erstreckt" is a verb and "erstreckte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "erstreckt" or "erstreckte"?
"erstreckt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,167 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 erstreckt vs erstreckte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “erstreckt”; for an adjective, it's “erstreckte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erstreckt” 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