Which to use
“erben” and “erbt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,178
- “erben” frequency rank
- #39,912
- “erbt” frequency rank
- 46090
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erben | erbt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nach dem Tod eines anderen dessen Vermögen zu Eigentum erhalten | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erben |
Where the eye mixes erben and erbt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses erben with erbt
A purely visual mix-up. erben ([ˈɛʁbn̩]) and erbt ([ɛʁpt]) 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 46090, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erben is recorded at frequency rank #6,178, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɛʁbn̩]. erbt is at rank #39,912, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛʁpt].
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 46090, this pair ranks #1,330,968 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erben vs erbt
Shared letters: ber. Private to "erben": n. Private to "erbt": t.
"erben" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "erbt" · 4 letters · shape VCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erben" and "erbt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erben" or "erbt"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erben" and "erbt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erbt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,330,968 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erben" and "erbt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erbt vs Erle". 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 #1,330,968 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.