Which to use
“Ente” and “Erle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,642
- “Ente” frequency rank
- #48,856
- “Erle” frequency rank
- 59498
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ente | Erle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kleinerer Wasservogel aus der Familie der Entenvögel (Anatidae), speziell | an feuchten Stellen wachsender Laubbaum der Gattung Alnus mit eingeschlechtigen Blüten in Kätzchen und rundlichen, verholzenden Fruchtzapfen |
Where the eye mixes Ente and Erle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Ente and Erle follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Ente and Erle
A purely visual mix-up. Ente ([ˈɛntə]) and Erle ([ˈɛʁlə]) 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 59498, 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]. 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 59498, this pair ranks #822,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Ente vs Erle
Shared letters: e. Private to "Ente": nt. Private to "Erle": lr.
"Ente" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "Erle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Ente" and "Erle" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Ente" or "Erle" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Ente" and "Erle" 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 "Erle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #822,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ente" 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 #822,306 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.