Which to use
“erwische” and “erwischt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,578
- “erwische” frequency rank
- #3,371
- “erwischt” frequency rank
- 47949
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwische | erwischt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erwischen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erwischen |
Where the eye mixes erwische and erwischt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erwische (VCCVCCCV) and erwischt (VCCVCCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses erwische with erwischt
A purely visual mix-up. erwische ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃə]) and erwischt ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - e in “erwische” becomes t in “erwischt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47949, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erwische is recorded at frequency rank #44,578, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃə]. erwischt is at rank #3,371, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃt].
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 47949, this pair ranks #1,266,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erwische vs erwischt
Shared letters: cehirsw. Private to "erwische": -. Private to "erwischt": t.
"erwische" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV · "erwischt" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erwische" and "erwischt" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erwische" vs "erwischt" - 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 "erwische" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwischt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,266,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwische" and "erwischt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "epische vs erwische". 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 #1,266,162 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.