erwartenvserwartetenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,127
“erwarten” frequency rank
#11,048
“erwarteten” frequency rank
12175
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erwarten erwarteten
Definition auf jemanden oder etwas warten, dem Eintreffen von etwas entgegensehen; denken, dass etwas kommen oder passieren wird Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erwartet

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erwarten and erwarteten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
erwarten
10 ch
erwarteten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

erwarten and erwarteten form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12175, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erwarten is recorded at frequency rank #1,127, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaʁtn̩]. erwarteten is at rank #11,048, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaʁtətn̩].

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 12175, this pair ranks #1,965,728 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

erwarten#1,127
erwarteten#11,048

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erwarten" and "erwarteten" be used interchangeably?
No, "erwarten" and "erwarteten" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering erwarten vs erwarteten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “erwarten”; for an adjective, it's “erwarteten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erwarten” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list