Which to use
“ehren” and “erben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,882
- “ehren” frequency rank
- #6,178
- “erben” frequency rank
- 10060
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ehren | erben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden hoch schätzen; Hochachtung zeigen | nach dem Tod eines anderen dessen Vermögen zu Eigentum erhalten |
Where the eye mixes ehren and erben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ehren and erben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between ehren and erben
A purely visual mix-up. ehren ([ˈeːʁən]) and erben ([ˈɛʁbn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ehren is recorded at frequency rank #3,882, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈeːʁən]. erben is at rank #6,178, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɛʁbn̩].
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 10060, this pair ranks #1,976,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ehren vs erben
Shared letters: enr. Private to "ehren": h. Private to "erben": b.
"ehren" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "erben" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ehren" for "erben" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ehren" or "erben"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ehren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,976,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ehren" and "erben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erben vs Eupen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,976,981 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.