Which to use
“erwirkt” and “erwürgt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,306
- “erwirkt” frequency rank
- #43,156
- “erwürgt” frequency rank
- 79462
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwirkt | erwürgt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erwirken | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erwürgen |
Where the eye mixes erwirkt and erwürgt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erwirkt and erwürgt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erwirkt vs erwürgt
A purely visual mix-up. erwirkt ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʁkt]) and erwürgt ([ɛɐ̯ˈvʏʁkt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79462, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erwirkt is recorded at frequency rank #36,306, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʁkt]. erwürgt is at rank #43,156, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvʏʁkt].
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 79462, this pair ranks #216,059 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of erwirkt vs erwürgt
Shared letters: ertw. Private to "erwirkt": ik. Private to "erwürgt": gü.
"erwirkt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "erwürgt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erwirkt ← eriwrkt · errwirkt · erwikrt · erwirkkt · erwirktt · erwirrkt · erwirtk · erwrikt
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erwirkt" and "erwürgt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erwirkt" or "erwürgt"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erwirkt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwürgt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #216,059 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwirkt" and "erwürgt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwürgt vs erzürnt". 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 #216,059 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.