Which to use
“erbauen” is a verb and “erbauten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,073
- “erbauen” frequency rank
- #28,631
- “erbauten” frequency rank
- 62704
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erbauen | erbauten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | für Bauwerke: | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erbaut |
Where the eye mixes erbauen and erbauten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erbauen runs 7 letters (VCCVVVC) against erbauten's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erbauen and erbauten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erbauen is [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ən] while erbauten is [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯tn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62704, 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]. erbauten is at rank #28,631, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯tn̩].
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 62704, this pair ranks #703,130 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erbauen vs erbauten
Shared letters: abenru. Private to "erbauen": -. Private to "erbauten": t.
"erbauen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC · "erbauten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erbauen" for "erbauten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erbauen" vs "erbauten" - which ranks higher?
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 "erbauten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #703,130 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erbauen" and "erbauten" 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 #703,130 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.