erlöschen
[ɛɐ̯ˈlœʃn̩]
The verdict
“erlöschen” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #33,571 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #33,571
- frequency rank, German
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - als Vulkan keine Aktivität mehr zeigen
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | erlöschen |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ɛɐ̯ˈlœʃn̩] |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #33,571 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “erlöschen” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for erlöschen is 9 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ɛɐ̯ˈlœʃn̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #33,571 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for erlöschen, with forms such as "elröschen", "erllöschen", and "erlsöchen". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "Erlösen", "erwischen", "erhaschen", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is erlöschen, spelled E-R-L-Ö-S-C-H-E-N.
Definition
- 1als Vulkan keine Aktivität mehr zeigen
- 2aufhören zu leuchten
- 3nicht länger gültig sein, zum Beispiel über einen Anspruch, ein Konto, eine Mitgliedschaft
- 4als Familie aufhören zu existieren (weil es keine Nachkommen gibt)
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: elröschen,erllöschen,erlsöchen,erlöcshen,erlöscchen,erlöscehn,erlöschenn,erlöschhen,erlöschne,erlöshcen,erlösschen,errlöschen,erölschen,relöschen
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of erlöschen - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "erlöschen"?
What does "erlöschen" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "erlöschen"?
How do you pronounce "erlöschen"?
What language does "erlöschen" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “erlöschen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is E-R-L-Ö-S-C-H-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ɛɐ̯ˈlœʃn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Erlösen” - see the side-by-side comparison. erlöschen vs Erlösen
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.