erwähltvserwähnstTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#26,395
“erwählt” frequency rank
#48,123
“erwähnst” frequency rank
74518
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erwählt erwähnst
Definition für eine bestimmte Aufgabe ausgesucht, bevorzugt 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erwähnen

Where the eye mixes erwählt and erwähnst

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

7 ch
erwählt
8 ch
erwähnst

Visual trap between erwählt and erwähnst

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erwählt is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːlt] while erwähnst is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnst]. 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 74518, 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]. erwähnst is at rank #48,123, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnst].

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 74518, this pair ranks #331,372 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of erwählt vs erwähnst

Shared letters: ehrtwä. Private to "erwählt": l. Private to "erwähnst": ns.

"erwählt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC  ·  "erwähnst" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erwählt" and "erwähnst" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erwählt" is an adjective and "erwähnst" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "erwählt" or "erwähnst" show up more?
"erwählt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,395 in our German list, against #48,123 for "erwähnst". 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 "erwähnst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #331,372 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erwählt" and "erwähnst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwächst vs erwähnst". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #331,372 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