Which to use
“erbeten” is a verb and “ersten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,632
- “erbeten” frequency rank
- #160
- “ersten” frequency rank
- 28792
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erbeten | ersten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erbitten | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erste |
Where the eye mixes erbeten and ersten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses erbeten with ersten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erbeten is [ɛɐ̯ˈbeːtn̩] while ersten is [ˈeːɐ̯stn̩]. 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 28792, 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]. ersten is at rank #160, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stn̩].
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 28792, this pair ranks #1,778,501 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erbeten vs ersten
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "erbeten": b. Private to "ersten": s.
"erbeten" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "ersten" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erbeten" and "ersten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "erbeten" or "ersten" show up more?
What to do next
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 "ersten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,778,501 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erbeten" and "ersten" 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 #1,778,501 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.