Which to use
“erwünscht” and “erwünschten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,704
- “erwünscht” frequency rank
- #49,636
- “erwünschten” frequency rank
- 58340
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwünscht | erwünschten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von jemandem gewollt, herbeigesehnt | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erwünscht |
Where the eye mixes erwünscht and erwünschten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. erwünscht runs 9 letters (VCCVCCCCC) against erwünschten's 11 (VCCVCCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erwünscht vs erwünschten
A purely visual mix-up. erwünscht ([ɛɐ̯ˈvʏnʃt]) and erwünschten ([ɛɐ̯ˈvʏnʃtn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “erwünscht” sits inside “erwünschten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erwünscht is recorded at frequency rank #8,704, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvʏnʃt]. erwünschten is at rank #49,636, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvʏnʃtn̩].
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 58340, this pair ranks #866,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erwünscht vs erwünschten
Shared letters: cehnrstwü. Private to "erwünscht": -. Private to "erwünschten": -.
"erwünscht" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCCC · "erwünschten" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erwünscht" and "erwünschten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erwünscht" or "erwünschten"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erwünscht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwünschten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #866,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwünscht" and "erwünschten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwünschte vs erwünschten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #866,570 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.