Which to use
“erwählt” and “erzählte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,395
- “erwählt” frequency rank
- #3,958
- “erzählte” frequency rank
- 30353
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwählt | erzählte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | für eine bestimmte Aufgabe ausgesucht, bevorzugt | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erzählt |
Where the eye mixes erwählt and erzählte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erwählt runs 7 letters (VCCVCCC) against erzählte's 8 (VCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erwählt and erzählte
A purely visual mix-up. erwählt ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːlt]) and erzählte ([ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːltə]) 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 30353, 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]. erzählte is at rank #3,958, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːltə].
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 30353, this pair ranks #1,749,553 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erwählt vs erzählte
Shared letters: ehlrtä. Private to "erwählt": w. Private to "erzählte": z.
"erwählt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "erzählte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erwählt" for "erzählte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erwählt" or "erzählte" show up more?
After this comparison
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 "erzählte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,749,553 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwählt" and "erzählte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwählt vs erwähnst". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,749,553 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.