erwägtvserwürgtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,960
“erwägt” frequency rank
#43,156
“erwürgt” frequency rank
65116
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erwägt erwürgt
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erwägen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erwürgen

Where the eye mixes erwägt and erwürgt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erwägt runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against erwürgt's 7 (VCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
erwägt
7 ch
erwürgt

Look-alike desk: erwägt vs erwürgt

A purely visual mix-up. erwägt ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːkt]) and erwürgt ([ɛɐ̯ˈvʏʁkt]) 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 65116, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erwägt is recorded at frequency rank #21,960, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːkt]. erwürgt is at rank #43,156, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvʏʁkt].

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 65116, this pair ranks #617,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erwägt vs erwürgt

Shared letters: egrtw. Private to "erwägt": ä. Private to "erwürgt": ü.

"erwägt" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "erwürgt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erwägt" and "erwürgt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːkt] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈvʏʁkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erwägt" vs "erwürgt" - which ranks higher?
"erwägt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,960 in our German list, against #43,156 for "erwürgt". 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 "erwägt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erwürgt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #617,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erwägt" and "erwürgt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwürgt vs erzürnt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #617,974 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