erbauenvsErbauerWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#34,073
“erbauen” frequency rank
#33,567
“Erbauer” frequency rank
67640
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erbauen Erbauer
Definition für Bauwerke: Person, die etwas durch Bauen erschafft (insbesondere Gebäude oder Bauwerke)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erbauen and Erbauer apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
erbauen
7 ch
Erbauer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erbauen is [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ən] while Erbauer is [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “erbauen” becomes r in “Erbauer”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67640, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erbauen is recorded at frequency rank #34,073, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ən]. Erbauer is at rank #33,567, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ɐ].

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 67640, this pair ranks #533,586 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erbauen vs Erbauer

Shared letters: aberu. Private to "erbauen": n. Private to "Erbauer": -.

"erbauen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC  ·  "Erbauer" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erbauenebrauen · erabuen · erbaeun · erbauenn · erbaune · erbbauen · erbuaen · errbauen
  • Erbauerebrauer · erabuer · erbaeur · erbauerr · erbaure · erbbauer · erbuaer · errbauer

Frequency comparison

erbauen#34,073
Erbauer#33,567

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erbauen" and "Erbauer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erbauen" is a verb and "Erbauer" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "erbauen" or "Erbauer"?
"Erbauer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,567 in our German list, against #34,073 for "erbauen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erbauen vs Erbauer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “erbauen”; for a noun, it's “Erbauer”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erbauen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list