erwählt vs erzählt, What's the Difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erwählt and erzählt apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

erwählt

7 ch

erzählt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

erwählt#26,395

erzählt#926

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erwählt" and "erzählt" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erwählt" is an adjective and "erzählt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "erwählt" or "erzählt"?

"erzählt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #926 in our German list, against #26,395 for "erwählt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering erwählt vs erzählt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “erwählt”; for a verb, it's “erzählt”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erwählt” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable