Which to use
“eilig” is an adjective and “erlag” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,485
- “eilig” frequency rank
- #22,326
- “erlag” frequency rank
- 34811
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eilig | erlag |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Eile, rasch | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erliegen |
Where the eye mixes eilig and erlag
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between eilig and erlag
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eilig is [ˈaɪ̯lɪç] while erlag is [ɛɐ̯ˈlaːk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34811, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eilig is recorded at frequency rank #12,485, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯lɪç]. erlag is at rank #22,326, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaːk].
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 34811, this pair ranks #1,654,726 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eilig vs erlag
Shared letters: egl. Private to "eilig": i. Private to "erlag": ar.
"eilig" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC · "erlag" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "eilig" and "erlag" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "eilig" vs "erlag" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "eilig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlag" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,654,726 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eilig" and "erlag" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erlag vs Erle". 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 #1,654,726 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.