Which to use
“erwischen” and “erwischt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,592
- “erwischen” frequency rank
- #3,371
- “erwischt” frequency rank
- 16963
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwischen | erwischt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden oder etwas in die Hände, in die Gewalt, zu fassen bekommen, festhalten | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erwischen |
Where the eye mixes erwischen and erwischt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erwischen runs 9 letters (VCCVCCCVC) against erwischt's 8 (VCCVCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erwischen with erwischt
A purely visual mix-up. erwischen ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erwischen is recorded at frequency rank #13,592, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃn̩]. 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 16963, this pair ranks #1,931,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erwischen vs erwischt
Shared letters: cehirsw. Private to "erwischen": n. Private to "erwischt": t.
"erwischen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC · "erwischt" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erwischen" and "erwischt" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erwischen" or "erwischt"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erwischen" 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 #1,931,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwischen" and "erwischt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwische vs erwischen". 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 #1,931,523 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.