Which to use
“erteilen” is a verb and “erteilten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,897
- “erteilen” frequency rank
- #29,113
- “erteilten” frequency rank
- 39010
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erteilen | erteilten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem etwas zukommen lassen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erteilt |
Where the eye mixes erteilen and erteilten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erteilen runs 8 letters (VCCVVCVC) against erteilten's 9 (VCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erteilen vs erteilten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erteilen is [ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯lən] while erteilten is [ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯ltn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erteilen is recorded at frequency rank #9,897, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯lən]. erteilten is at rank #29,113, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯ltn̩].
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 39010, this pair ranks #1,548,584 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erteilen vs erteilten
Shared letters: eilnrt. Private to "erteilen": -. Private to "erteilten": -.
"erteilen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "erteilten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erteilen" and "erteilten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erteilen" or "erteilten"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erteilen" and "erteilten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erteilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erteilten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,548,584 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erteilen" and "erteilten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erhellen vs erteilen". 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 #1,548,584 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.