erbauenvserbautTell them apart

Which to use

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

#34,073
“erbauen” frequency rank
#9,184
“erbaut” frequency rank
43257
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erbauen erbaut
Definition für Bauwerke: Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erbauen

Where the eye mixes erbauen and erbaut

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erbauen runs 7 letters (VCCVVVC) against erbaut's 6 (VCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
erbauen
6 ch
erbaut

Visual trap between erbauen and erbaut

A purely visual mix-up. erbauen ([ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ən]) and erbaut ([ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯t]) 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 43257, 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]. erbaut is at rank #9,184, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯t].

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 43257, this pair ranks #1,423,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erbauen vs erbaut

Shared letters: aberu. Private to "erbauen": n. Private to "erbaut": t.

"erbauen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC  ·  "erbaut" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erbauenebrauen · erabuen · erbaeun · erbauenn · erbaune · erbbauen · erbuaen · errbauen
  • erbautebraut · erabut · erbatu · erbautt · erbbaut · erbuat · errbaut · rebaut

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erbauen" and "erbaut" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erbauen" vs "erbaut" - which ranks higher?
"erbaut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,184 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.

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 "erbauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erbaut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,423,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erbauen" and "erbaut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erbauen vs erbeuten". 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 #1,423,786 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