erzwungenvserzwungenenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: erzwungen is a verb, erzwungenen is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#29,566
“erzwungen” frequency rank
#39,919
“erzwungenen” frequency rank
69485
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erzwungen erzwungenen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erzwingen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erzwungen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erzwungen and erzwungenen apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
erzwungen
11 ch
erzwungenen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erzwungen is [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡svʊŋən] while erzwungenen is [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡svʊŋənən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “erzwungen” sits inside “erzwungenen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69485, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erzwungen is recorded at frequency rank #29,566, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡svʊŋən]. erzwungenen is at rank #39,919, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡svʊŋənən].

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 69485, this pair ranks #475,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of erzwungen vs erzwungenen

Shared letters: egnruwz. Private to "erzwungen": -. Private to "erzwungenen": -.

"erzwungen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "erzwungenen" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erzwungenerrzwungen · erwzungen · erzuwngen · erzwnugen · erzwugnen · erzwunegn · erzwungenn · erzwunggen
  • erzwungenenerrzwungenen · erwzungenen · erzuwngenen · erzwnugenen · erzwugnenen · erzwunegnen · erzwungeenn · erzwungenenn

Frequency comparison

erzwungen#29,566
erzwungenen#39,919

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erzwungen" and "erzwungenen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erzwungen" is a verb and "erzwungenen" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "erzwungen" or "erzwungenen"?
"erzwungen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,566 in our German list, against #39,919 for "erzwungenen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erzwungen vs erzwungenen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list