Which to use
“erbauen” is a verb and “erbaute” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,073
- “erbauen” frequency rank
- #22,700
- “erbaute” frequency rank
- 56773
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erbauen | erbaute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | für Bauwerke: | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erbaut |
Where the eye mixes erbauen and erbaute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erbauen (VCCVVVC) and erbaute (VCCVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between erbauen and erbaute
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erbauen is [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ən] while erbaute is [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯tə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56773, 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]. erbaute is at rank #22,700, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯tə].
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 56773, this pair ranks #927,185 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erbauen vs erbaute
Shared letters: aberu. Private to "erbauen": n. Private to "erbaute": t.
"erbauen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC · "erbaute" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erbauen" and "erbaute" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erbauen" or "erbaute"?
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 "erbaute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #927,185 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erbauen" and "erbaute" 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 #927,185 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.