entziehenvserziehenConfusable pair

Which to use

“entziehen” and “erziehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,196
“entziehen” frequency rank
#12,905
“erziehen” frequency rank
21101
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entziehen erziehen
Definition (ein Recht oder eine Erlaubnis) wegnehmen jemandem Bildung und Wissen beibringen, jemandes Charakter formen (auf ein Ziel hin)

Where the eye mixes entziehen and erziehen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. entziehen runs 9 letters (VCCCVVCVC) against erziehen's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
entziehen
8 ch
erziehen

Look-alike desk: entziehen vs erziehen

A purely visual mix-up. entziehen ([ɛntˈt͡siːən]) and erziehen ([ɛɐ̯ˈt͡siːən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21101, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entziehen is recorded at frequency rank #8,196, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈt͡siːən]. erziehen is at rank #12,905, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡siːən].

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 21101, this pair ranks #1,890,151 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entziehen vs erziehen

Shared letters: ehinz. Private to "entziehen": t. Private to "erziehen": r.

"entziehen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC  ·  "erziehen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entziehen ← enntziehen · entizehen · enttziehen · entzeihen · entzieehn · entziehenn · entziehhen · entziehne
  • erziehen ← erizehen · errziehen · erzeihen · erzieehn · erziehenn · erziehhen · erziehne · erziheen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entziehen" and "erziehen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈt͡siːən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡siːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "entziehen" vs "erziehen" - which ranks higher?
"entziehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,196 in our German list, against #12,905 for "erziehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "entziehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erziehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,890,151 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entziehen" and "erziehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erziehen vs erzieht". 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 #1,890,151 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