erwachtvserwischtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#12,070
“erwacht” frequency rank
#3,371
“erwischt” frequency rank
15441
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erwacht erwischt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erwachen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erwischen

Where the eye mixes erwacht and erwischt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erwacht runs 7 letters (VCCVCCC) against erwischt's 8 (VCCVCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
erwacht
8 ch
erwischt

Visual trap between erwacht and erwischt

A purely visual mix-up. erwacht ([ɛɐ̯ˈvaxt]) and erwischt ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃt]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15441, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erwacht is recorded at frequency rank #12,070, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaxt]. erwischt is at rank #3,371, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃt].

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 15441, this pair ranks #1,943,847 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erwacht vs erwischt

Shared letters: cehrtw. Private to "erwacht": a. Private to "erwischt": is.

"erwacht" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC  ·  "erwischt" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erwachterawcht · errwacht · erwaccht · erwachht · erwachtt · erwacth · erwahct · erwcaht
  • erwischteriwscht · errwischt · erwicsht · erwisccht · erwischht · erwischtt · erwiscth · erwishct

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erwacht" and "erwischt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈvaxt] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erwacht" or "erwischt"?
"erwischt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,371 in our German list, against #12,070 for "erwacht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "erwacht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erwischt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,943,847 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erwacht" and "erwischt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erachte vs erwacht". 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 #1,943,847 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