erbautevsErbgutWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: erbaute is a adjective, Erbgut is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“erbaute” is an adjective and “Erbgut” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,700
“erbaute” frequency rank
#32,509
“Erbgut” frequency rank
55209
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erbaute Erbgut
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erbaut die Gesamtheit der in der DNS verschlüsselten Erbanlagen

Where the eye mixes erbaute and Erbgut

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

7 ch
erbaute
6 ch
Erbgut

Look-alike desk: erbaute vs Erbgut

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erbaute is [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯tə] while Erbgut is [ˈɛʁpˌɡuːt]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erbaute is recorded at frequency rank #22,700, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯tə]. Erbgut is at rank #32,509, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁpˌɡuːt].

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 55209, this pair ranks #988,490 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erbaute vs Erbgut

Shared letters: bertu. Private to "erbaute": a. Private to "Erbgut": g.

"erbaute" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV  ·  "Erbgut" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erbauteebraute · erabute · erbatue · erbauet · erbautte · erbbaute · erbuate · errbaute
  • Erbgutebrgut · erbbgut · erbggut · erbgtu · erbgutt · erbugt · ergbut · errbgut

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erbaute" and "Erbgut" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erbaute" is an adjective and "Erbgut" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "erbaute" or "Erbgut"?
"erbaute" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,700 in our German list, against #32,509 for "Erbgut". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "erbaute" and "Erbgut" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erbaute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Erbgut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #988,490 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erbaute" and "Erbgut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erbgut vs erbost". 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 #988,490 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