Which to use
“Erbes” and “Erle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,530
- “Erbes” frequency rank
- #48,856
- “Erle” frequency rank
- 80386
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Erbes | Erle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Erbe | an feuchten Stellen wachsender Laubbaum der Gattung Alnus mit eingeschlechtigen Blüten in Kätzchen und rundlichen, verholzenden Fruchtzapfen |
Where the eye mixes Erbes and Erle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Erbes runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against Erle's 4 (VCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Erbes and Erle
A purely visual mix-up. Erbes ([ˈɛʁbəs]) and Erle ([ˈɛʁlə]) 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 80386, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Erbes is recorded at frequency rank #31,530, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁbəs]. Erle is at rank #48,856, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁlə].
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 80386, this pair ranks #196,677 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Erbes vs Erle
Shared letters: er. Private to "Erbes": bs. Private to "Erle": l.
"Erbes" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "Erle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Erbes" for "Erle" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Erbes" vs "Erle" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Erbes" and "Erle" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Erbes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #196,677 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Erbes" and "Erle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erbse 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 #196,677 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.