erweitertvserweitertenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#3,245
“erweitert” frequency rank
#9,539
“erweiterten” frequency rank
12784
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erweitert erweiterten
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erweitern Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erweitert

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erweitert and erweiterten apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
erweitert
11 ch
erweiterten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erweitert is [ɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯tɐt] while erweiterten is [ɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯tɐtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “erweitert” sits inside “erweiterten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12784, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erweitert is recorded at frequency rank #3,245, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯tɐt]. erweiterten is at rank #9,539, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯tɐtn̩].

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 12784, this pair ranks #1,962,069 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erweitert vs erweiterten

Shared letters: eirtw. Private to "erweitert": -. Private to "erweiterten": n.

"erweitert" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVCC  ·  "erweiterten" · 11 letters · shape VCCVVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erweiterterewitert · errweitert · erweietrt · erweiterrt · erweitertt · erweitetr · erweitret · erweittert
  • erweitertenerewiterten · errweiterten · erweietrten · erweiteretn · erweiterrten · erweitertenn · erweitertne · erweitertten

Frequency comparison

erweitert#3,245
erweiterten#9,539

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erweitert" and "erweiterten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erweitert" is a verb and "erweiterten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "erweitert" or "erweiterten"?
"erweitert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,245 in our German list, against #9,539 for "erweiterten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erweitert vs erweiterten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “erweitert”; for an adjective, it's “erweiterten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erweitert” 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