eiltevsErleConfusable pair

Quick tell: eilte is a verb, Erle is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“eilte” is a verb and “Erle” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,258
“eilte” frequency rank
#48,856
“Erle” frequency rank
76114
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eilte Erle
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs eilen an feuchten Stellen wachsender Laubbaum der Gattung Alnus mit eingeschlechtigen Blüten in Kätzchen und rundlichen, verholzenden Fruchtzapfen

Where the eye mixes eilte and Erle

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
eilte
4 ch
Erle

Visual trap between eilte and Erle

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eilte is [ˈaɪ̯ltə] while Erle is [ˈɛʁlə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76114, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eilte is recorded at frequency rank #27,258, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ltə]. 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 76114, this pair ranks #291,445 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of eilte vs Erle

Shared letters: el. Private to "eilte": it. Private to "Erle": r.

"eilte" · 5 letters · shape VVCCV  ·  "Erle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eilteeilet · eillte · eiltte · ielte
  • Erleelre · erel · erlle · errle · rele

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "eilte" for "Erle" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "eilte" is a verb and "Erle" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "eilte" vs "Erle" - which ranks higher?
"eilte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,258 in our German list, against #48,856 for "Erle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "eilte" and "Erle" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "eilte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Erle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #291,445 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "eilte" and "Erle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erbse 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 #291,445 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list