erwähntvserwähnteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: erwähnt is a verb, erwähnte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#1,288
“erwähnt” frequency rank
#6,788
“erwähnte” frequency rank
8076
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erwähnt erwähnte
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erwähnen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erwähnt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erwähnt and erwähnte apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
erwähnt
8 ch
erwähnte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erwähnt is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnt] while erwähnte is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːntə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “erwähnt” sits inside “erwähnte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8076, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erwähnt is recorded at frequency rank #1,288, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnt]. 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 8076, this pair ranks #1,985,727 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erwähnt vs erwähnte

Shared letters: ehnrtwä. Private to "erwähnt": -. Private to "erwähnte": -.

"erwähnt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC  ·  "erwähnte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV

Frequency comparison

erwähnt#1,288
erwähnte#6,788

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erwähnt" and "erwähnte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erwähnt" is a verb and "erwähnte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "erwähnt" or "erwähnte"?
"erwähnt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,288 in our German list, against #6,788 for "erwähnte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erwähnt vs erwähnte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list