Which to use
“erwachsen” is an adjective and “erwächst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,704
- “erwachsen” frequency rank
- #41,790
- “erwächst” frequency rank
- 47494
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwachsen | erwächst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aus dem Kindesalter heraus, über das Jugendalter hinausgewachsen | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erwachsen |
Where the eye mixes erwachsen and erwächst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erwachsen runs 9 letters (VCCVCCCVC) against erwächst's 8 (VCCVCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erwachsen and erwächst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erwachsen is [ɛɐ̯ˈvaksn̩] while erwächst is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛkst]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47494, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erwachsen is recorded at frequency rank #5,704, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaksn̩]. erwächst is at rank #41,790, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛkst].
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 47494, this pair ranks #1,282,292 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erwachsen vs erwächst
Shared letters: cehrsw. Private to "erwachsen": an. Private to "erwächst": tä.
"erwachsen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC · "erwächst" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erwachsen ← erawchsen · errwachsen · erwacchsen · erwachesn · erwachhsen · erwachsenn · erwachsne · erwachssen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erwachsen" for "erwächst" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erwachsen" vs "erwächst" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erwachsen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwächst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,282,292 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwachsen" and "erwächst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwächst vs erwähnst". 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 #1,282,292 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.