Which to use
“eilen” and “erben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,518
- “eilen” frequency rank
- #6,178
- “erben” frequency rank
- 31696
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eilen | erben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schnell gehen, um ein Ziel möglichst schnell zu erreichen | nach dem Tod eines anderen dessen Vermögen zu Eigentum erhalten |
Where the eye mixes eilen and erben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses eilen with erben
A purely visual mix-up. eilen ([ˈaɪ̯lən]) 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 31696, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eilen is recorded at frequency rank #25,518, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯lən]. 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 31696, this pair ranks #1,722,966 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eilen vs erben
Shared letters: en. Private to "eilen": il. Private to "erben": br.
"eilen" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC · "erben" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "eilen" and "erben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "eilen" or "erben"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "eilen" 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 #1,722,966 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eilen" and "erben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eilen 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 #1,722,966 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.