Which to use
“erwachsen” is an adjective and “erwähnen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,704
- “erwachsen” frequency rank
- #4,697
- “erwähnen” frequency rank
- 10401
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwachsen | erwähnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aus dem Kindesalter heraus, über das Jugendalter hinausgewachsen | etwas nebenbei und beiläufig aussprechen/anführen, zur Sprache bringen |
Where the eye mixes erwachsen and erwähnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erwachsen runs 9 letters (VCCVCCCVC) against erwähnen's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erwachsen vs erwähnen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erwachsen is [ɛɐ̯ˈvaksn̩] while erwähnen is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnən]. 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 10401, 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]. erwähnen is at rank #4,697, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnən].
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 10401, this pair ranks #1,975,324 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erwachsen vs erwähnen
Shared letters: ehnrw. Private to "erwachsen": acs. Private to "erwähnen": ä.
"erwachsen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC · "erwähnen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erwachsen ← erawchsen · errwachsen · erwacchsen · erwachesn · erwachhsen · erwachsenn · erwachsne · erwachssen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erwachsen" and "erwähnen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "erwachsen" or "erwähnen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erwachsen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwähnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,975,324 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwachsen" and "erwähnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwähnen 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 #1,975,324 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.