EhevsErleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Ehe” and “Erle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,071
“Ehe” frequency rank
#48,856
“Erle” frequency rank
49927
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ehe Erle
Definition institutionell anerkannte und beurkundete Verbindung zweier Menschen, die in der Regel durch eine Liebesbeziehung, gemeinsame Lebensführung und dauerhaftes Bestehen (sowie oft, aber nicht überall, auch durch den Ausschluss einer gleichzeitigen gleichartigen Verbindung mit einem Dritten) gekennzeichnet ist an feuchten Stellen wachsender Laubbaum der Gattung Alnus mit eingeschlechtigen Blüten in Kätzchen und rundlichen, verholzenden Fruchtzapfen

Where the eye mixes Ehe and Erle

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
Ehe
4 ch
Erle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Ehe ([ˈeːə]) and Erle ([ˈɛʁlə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49927, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ehe is recorded at frequency rank #1,071, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈeːə]. Erle is at rank #48,856, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁlə].

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 49927, this pair ranks #1,193,099 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Ehe vs Erle

Shared letters: e. Private to "Ehe": h. Private to "Erle": lr.

"Ehe" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "Erle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Erleelre · erel · erlle · errle · rele

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ehe" and "Erle" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈeːə] versus [ˈɛʁlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Ehe" or "Erle"?
"Ehe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,071 in our German list, against #48,856 for "Erle". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list