Which to use
“erbauen” and “erkaufen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,073
- “erbauen” frequency rank
- #36,297
- “erkaufen” frequency rank
- 70370
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erbauen | erkaufen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | für Bauwerke: | etwas durch Anstrengung oder Opfer erlangen |
Where the eye mixes erbauen and erkaufen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erbauen runs 7 letters (VCCVVVC) against erkaufen's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erbauen with erkaufen
A purely visual mix-up. erbauen ([ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ən]) and erkaufen ([ɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]) 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 70370, 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]. erkaufen is at rank #36,297, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩].
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 70370, this pair ranks #448,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of erbauen vs erkaufen
Shared letters: aenru. Private to "erbauen": b. Private to "erkaufen": fk.
"erbauen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC · "erkaufen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erbauen" and "erkaufen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "erbauen" or "erkaufen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erbauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erkaufen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #448,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erbauen" and "erkaufen" 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 #448,422 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.