erwähltvserwähneConfusable pair

Quick tell: erwählt is a adjective, erwähne is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“erwählt” is an adjective and “erwähne” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#26,395
“erwählt” frequency rank
#25,539
“erwähne” frequency rank
51934
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erwählt erwähne
Definition für eine bestimmte Aufgabe ausgesucht, bevorzugt 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erwähnen

Where the eye mixes erwählt and erwähne

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erwählt (VCCVCCC) and erwähne (VCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
erwählt
7 ch
erwähne

Visual trap between erwählt and erwähne

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erwählt is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːlt] while erwähne is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51934, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erwählt is recorded at frequency rank #26,395, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːlt]. erwähne is at rank #25,539, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnə].

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 51934, this pair ranks #1,116,367 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erwählt vs erwähne

Shared letters: ehrwä. Private to "erwählt": lt. Private to "erwähne": n.

"erwählt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC  ·  "erwähne" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erwählt" and "erwähne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erwählt" is an adjective and "erwähne" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "erwählt" vs "erwähne" - which ranks higher?
"erwähne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,539 in our German list, against #26,395 for "erwählt". 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 "erwählt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erwähne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,116,367 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erwählt" and "erwähne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwählt vs erwähnst". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,116,367 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