Which to use
“Ente” and “Erbe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,642
- “Ente” frequency rank
- #4,874
- “Erbe” frequency rank
- 15516
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ente | Erbe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kleinerer Wasservogel aus der Familie der Entenvögel (Anatidae), speziell | Besitz eines Verstorbenen, der an eine lebende Person übertragen werden kann |
Where the eye mixes Ente and Erbe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Ente with Erbe
A purely visual mix-up. Ente ([ˈɛntə]) and Erbe ([ˈɛʁbə]) 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 15516, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ente is recorded at frequency rank #10,642, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛntə]. Erbe is at rank #4,874, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁbə].
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 15516, this pair ranks #1,943,254 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Ente vs Erbe
Shared letters: e. Private to "Ente": nt. Private to "Erbe": br.
"Ente" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "Erbe" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Ente" and "Erbe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Ente" or "Erbe" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Ente" and "Erbe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erbe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,943,254 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ente" and "Erbe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ente 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 #1,943,254 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.