erbeutenvserbeutetWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“erbeuten” and “erbeutet” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#43,148
“erbeuten” frequency rank
#29,559
“erbeutet” frequency rank
72707
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erbeuten erbeutet
Definition etwas widerrechtlich in seinen Besitz nehmen; Beute machen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erbeuten

Where the eye mixes erbeuten and erbeutet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erbeuten and erbeutet follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
erbeuten
8 ch
erbeutet

Visual trap between erbeuten and erbeutet

A purely visual mix-up. erbeuten ([ɛɐ̯ˈbɔɪ̯tn̩]) and erbeutet ([ɛɐ̯ˈbɔɪ̯tət]) 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 a single letter - n in “erbeuten” becomes t in “erbeutet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72707, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erbeuten is recorded at frequency rank #43,148, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈbɔɪ̯tn̩]. erbeutet is at rank #29,559, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈbɔɪ̯tət].

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 72707, this pair ranks #380,692 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of erbeuten vs erbeutet

Shared letters: bertu. Private to "erbeuten": n. Private to "erbeutet": -.

"erbeuten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC  ·  "erbeutet" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erbeutenebreuten · erbbeuten · erbetuen · erbeuetn · erbeutenn · erbeutne · erbeutten · erbueten
  • erbeutetebreutet · erbbeutet · erbetuet · erbeuett · erbeutett · erbeutte · erbeuttet · erbuetet

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erbeuten" and "erbeutet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈbɔɪ̯tn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈbɔɪ̯tət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erbeuten" or "erbeutet"?
"erbeutet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,559 in our German list, against #43,148 for "erbeuten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erbeuten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erbeutet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #380,692 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erbeuten" and "erbeutet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erbeuten 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 #380,692 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list