Which to use
“erbeten” is a verb and “erlebten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,632
- “erbeten” frequency rank
- #14,556
- “erlebten” frequency rank
- 43188
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erbeten | erlebten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erbitten | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erlebt |
Where the eye mixes erbeten and erlebten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erbeten runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against erlebten's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erbeten vs erlebten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erbeten is [ɛɐ̯ˈbeːtn̩] while erlebten is [ɛɐ̯ˈleːptn̩]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erbeten is recorded at frequency rank #28,632, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈbeːtn̩]. erlebten is at rank #14,556, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːptn̩].
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 43188, this pair ranks #1,425,913 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erbeten vs erlebten
Shared letters: benrt. Private to "erbeten": -. Private to "erlebten": l.
"erbeten" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "erlebten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erbeten" and "erlebten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erbeten" or "erlebten"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erbeten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlebten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,425,913 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erbeten" and "erlebten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erbeten vs erregten". 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 #1,425,913 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.