Which to use
“erbaute” and “erlaubte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,700
- “erbaute” frequency rank
- #11,644
- “erlaubte” frequency rank
- 34344
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erbaute | erlaubte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erbaut | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erlaubt |
Where the eye mixes erbaute and erlaubte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erbaute runs 7 letters (VCCVVCV) against erlaubte's 8 (VCCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erbaute with erlaubte
A purely visual mix-up. erbaute ([ɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯tə]) and erlaubte ([ɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯ptə]) 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 34344, 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]. erlaubte is at rank #11,644, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯ptə].
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 34344, this pair ranks #1,665,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erbaute vs erlaubte
Shared letters: abertu. Private to "erbaute": -. Private to "erlaubte": l.
"erbaute" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV · "erlaubte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erbaute" and "erlaubte" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erbaute" vs "erlaubte" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erbaute" and "erlaubte" 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 "erlaubte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,665,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erbaute" and "erlaubte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erbaute 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 #1,665,456 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.