Which to use
“erwählt” and “erwähnte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,395
- “erwählt” frequency rank
- #6,788
- “erwähnte” frequency rank
- 33183
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwählt | erwähnte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | für eine bestimmte Aufgabe ausgesucht, bevorzugt | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erwähnt |
Where the eye mixes erwählt and erwähnte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erwählt runs 7 letters (VCCVCCC) against erwähnte's 8 (VCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erwählt with erwähnte
A purely visual mix-up. erwählt ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːlt]) and erwähnte ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːntə]) 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 33183, 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]. erwähnte is at rank #6,788, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːntə].
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 33183, this pair ranks #1,691,497 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erwählt vs erwähnte
Shared letters: ehrtwä. Private to "erwählt": l. Private to "erwähnte": n.
"erwählt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "erwähnte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erwählt" for "erwähnte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erwählt" vs "erwähnte" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erwählt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwähnte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,691,497 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwählt" and "erwähnte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwählt vs erwähnst". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,691,497 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.