ErwachsenenvsErwachsenerTell them apart

Which to use

“Erwachsenen” and “Erwachsener” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,725
“Erwachsenen” frequency rank
#11,047
“Erwachsener” frequency rank
14772
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Erwachsenen Erwachsener
Definition Genitiv Singular der starken Flexion des Substantivs Erwachsener ein erwachsener Mensch (Mann); ein Mensch (Mann), der ein bestimmtes Alter beziehungsweise mentales oder körperliches Entwicklungsstadium vom Jugendlichen her überschritten hat, also der Jugend entwachsen ist

Where the eye mixes Erwachsenen and Erwachsener

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Erwachsenen and Erwachsener follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
Erwachsenen
11 ch
Erwachsener

Visual trap between Erwachsenen and Erwachsener

A purely visual mix-up. Erwachsenen ([ɛɐ̯ˈvaksənən]) and Erwachsener ([ɛɐ̯ˈvaksənɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - n in “Erwachsenen” becomes r in “Erwachsener”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14772, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Erwachsenen is recorded at frequency rank #3,725, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaksənən]. Erwachsener is at rank #11,047, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaksənɐ].

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 14772, this pair ranks #1,948,859 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Erwachsenen vs Erwachsener

Shared letters: acehnrsw. Private to "Erwachsenen": -. Private to "Erwachsener": -.

"Erwachsenen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCVC  ·  "Erwachsener" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Erwachsenen ← erawchsenen · errwachsenen · erwacchsenen · erwachesnen · erwachhsenen · erwachseenn · erwachsenenn · erwachsennen
  • Erwachsener ← erawchsener · errwachsener · erwacchsener · erwachesner · erwachhsener · erwachseenr · erwachsenerr · erwachsenner

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Erwachsenen" and "Erwachsener" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈvaksənən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈvaksənɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Erwachsenen" or "Erwachsener"?
"Erwachsenen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,725 in our German list, against #11,047 for "Erwachsener". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Erwachsenen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Erwachsener" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,948,859 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Erwachsenen" and "Erwachsener" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwachsen vs Erwachsener". 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 #1,948,859 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list