Which to use
“Erzähler” is a noun and “erzählte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,274
- “Erzähler” frequency rank
- #3,958
- “erzählte” frequency rank
- 14232
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Erzähler | erzählte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Person, die etwas erzählt | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erzählt |
Where the eye mixes Erzähler and erzählte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Erzähler (VCCVCCVC) and erzählte (VCCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Erzähler and erzählte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Erzähler is [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlɐ] while erzählte is [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːltə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14232, 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]. 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 14232, this pair ranks #1,952,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Erzähler vs erzählte
Shared letters: ehlrzä. Private to "Erzähler": -. Private to "erzählte": t.
"Erzähler" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erzählte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Erzähler" and "erzählte" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Erzähler" vs "erzählte" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Erzähler" and "erzählte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Erzähler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erzählte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,952,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Erzähler" and "erzählte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erzähler vs Erzählers". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,952,663 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.