Which to use
“erwarten” is a verb and “Erwartung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,127
- “erwarten” frequency rank
- #10,648
- “Erwartung” frequency rank
- 11775
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwarten | Erwartung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf jemanden oder etwas warten, dem Eintreffen von etwas entgegensehen; denken, dass etwas kommen oder passieren wird | Zustand der Spannung, des Wartens, der Ungeduld |
Where the eye mixes erwarten and Erwartung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erwarten runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against Erwartung's 9 (VCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erwarten with Erwartung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erwarten is [ɛɐ̯ˈvaʁtn̩] while Erwartung is [ɛɐ̯ˈvaʁtʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11775, 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]. Erwartung is at rank #10,648, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaʁtʊŋ].
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 11775, this pair ranks #1,967,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erwarten vs Erwartung
Shared letters: aenrtw. Private to "erwarten": -. Private to "Erwartung": gu.
"erwarten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "Erwartung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erwarten" and "Erwartung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "erwarten" vs "Erwartung" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erwarten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erwartung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,967,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwarten" and "Erwartung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erhärtet vs erwarten". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,967,974 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.