Which to use
“erwählt” is an adjective and “erzählt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,395
- “erwählt” frequency rank
- #926
- “erzählt” frequency rank
- 27321
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwählt | erzählt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | für eine bestimmte Aufgabe ausgesucht, bevorzugt | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erzählen |
Where the eye mixes erwählt and erzählt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erwählt and erzählt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erwählt vs erzählt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erwählt is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːlt] while erzählt is [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - w in “erwählt” becomes z in “erzählt”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27321, 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]. erzählt is at rank #926, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlt].
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 27321, this pair ranks #1,803,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erwählt vs erzählt
Shared letters: ehlrtä. Private to "erwählt": w. Private to "erzählt": z.
"erwählt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "erzählt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erwählt" for "erzählt" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erwählt" vs "erzählt" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "erwählt" and "erzählt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erwählt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erzählt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,803,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwählt" and "erzählt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwählt vs erwähnst". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,803,663 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.