Erzähler vs erzählt, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“Erzähler” is a noun and “erzählt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,274
“Erzähler” frequency rank: #926
“erzählt” frequency rank: 11200
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Erzähler	erzählt
Definition	Person, die etwas erzählt	Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erzählen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Erzähler and erzählt apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

Erzähler

7 ch

erzählt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Erzähler is [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlɐ] while erzählt is [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlt]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11200, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Erzähler is recorded at frequency rank #10,274, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlɐ]. erzählt is at rank #926, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlt].

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 11200, this pair ranks #1,971,138 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Erzähler vs erzählt

Shared letters: ehlrzä. Private to "Erzähler": -. Private to "erzählt": t.

"Erzähler" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erzählt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Frequency comparison

Erzähler#10,274

erzählt#926

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Erzähler" and "erzählt" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Erzähler" is a noun and "erzählt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Erzähler" or "erzählt"?

"erzählt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #926 in our German list, against #10,274 for "Erzähler". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Erzähler vs erzählt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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