Which to use
“erwischt” is a verb and “erwischte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,371
- “erwischt” frequency rank
- #23,923
- “erwischte” frequency rank
- 27294
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwischt | erwischte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erwischen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erwischt |
Where the eye mixes erwischt and erwischte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erwischt runs 8 letters (VCCVCCCC) against erwischte's 9 (VCCVCCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erwischt and erwischte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erwischt is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃt] while erwischte is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “erwischt” sits inside “erwischte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erwischt is recorded at frequency rank #3,371, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃt]. erwischte is at rank #23,923, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃtə].
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 27294, this pair ranks #1,804,118 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erwischt vs erwischte
Shared letters: cehirstw. Private to "erwischt": -. Private to "erwischte": -.
"erwischt" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCC · "erwischte" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erwischt" and "erwischte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erwischt" or "erwischte"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erwischt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwischte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,804,118 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwischt" and "erwischte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwischte vs erwünschte". 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 #1,804,118 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.