erzähle vs erzählte, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“erzähle” is a verb and “erzählte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,851
“erzähle” frequency rank: #3,958
“erzählte” frequency rank: 14809
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	erzähle	erzählte
Definition	1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erzählen	Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erzählt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erzähle and erzählte apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

erzähle

8 ch

erzählte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erzähle is [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlə] while erzählte is [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːltə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14809, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erzähle is recorded at frequency rank #10,851, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlə]. erzählte is at rank #3,958, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːltə].

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 14809, this pair ranks #1,948,576 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erzähle vs erzählte

Shared letters: ehlrzä. Private to "erzähle": -. Private to "erzählte": t.

"erzähle" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "erzählte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV

Frequency comparison

erzähle#10,851

erzählte#3,958

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erzähle" and "erzählte" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erzähle" is a verb and "erzählte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "erzähle" or "erzählte"?

"erzählte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,958 in our German list, against #10,851 for "erzähle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erzähle vs erzählte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “erzähle”; for an adjective, it's “erzählte”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erzähle” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable