erwogenvserworbenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“erwogen” and “erworben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,993
“erwogen” frequency rank
#4,428
“erworben” frequency rank
30421
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erwogen erworben
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erwägen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erwerben

Where the eye mixes erwogen and erworben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erwogen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against erworben's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
erwogen
8 ch
erworben

Why the eye confuses erwogen with erworben

A purely visual mix-up. erwogen ([ɛɐ̯ˈvoːɡn̩]) and erworben ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɔʁbn̩]) 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 30421, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erwogen is recorded at frequency rank #25,993, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvoːɡn̩]. erworben is at rank #4,428, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɔʁbn̩].

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 30421, this pair ranks #1,748,161 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erwogen vs erworben

Shared letters: enorw. Private to "erwogen": g. Private to "erworben": b.

"erwogen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "erworben" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erwogenerowgen · errwogen · erwgoen · erwoegn · erwogenn · erwoggen · erwogne · erwwogen
  • erworbenerowrben · errworben · erwobren · erworbben · erworbenn · erworbne · erworebn · erworrben

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erwogen" and "erworben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈvoːɡn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈvɔʁbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "erwogen" or "erworben" show up more?
"erworben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,428 in our German list, against #25,993 for "erwogen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erwogen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erworben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,748,161 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erwogen" and "erworben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ertönen vs erwogen". 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 #1,748,161 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list