Which to use
“Eleven” is a noun and “erlegen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,499
- “Eleven” frequency rank
- #24,699
- “erlegen” frequency rank
- 65198
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Eleven | erlegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Eleve | ein Tier bei der Jagd (durch einen Schuss) töten |
Where the eye mixes Eleven and erlegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Eleven with erlegen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Eleven is [eˈleːvn̩] while erlegen is [ɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65198, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Eleven is recorded at frequency rank #40,499, classified as anoun, pronounced [eˈleːvn̩]. erlegen is at rank #24,699, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩].
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 65198, this pair ranks #615,191 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Eleven vs erlegen
Shared letters: eln. Private to "Eleven": v. Private to "erlegen": gr.
"Eleven" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "erlegen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Eleven" for "erlegen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Eleven" or "erlegen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Eleven" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #615,191 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Eleven" and "erlegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Elben vs Eleven". 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 #615,191 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.