erbeutenvserbittenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#43,148
“erbeuten” frequency rank
#39,314
“erbitten” frequency rank
82462
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erbeuten erbitten
Definition etwas widerrechtlich in seinen Besitz nehmen; Beute machen jemanden um etwas dringend bitten, dringend um etwas nachsuchen

Where the eye mixes erbeuten and erbitten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erbeuten (VCCVVCVC) and erbitten (VCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
erbeuten
8 ch
erbitten

Why the eye confuses erbeuten with erbitten

A purely visual mix-up. erbeuten ([ɛɐ̯ˈbɔɪ̯tn̩]) and erbitten ([ɛɐ̯ˈbɪtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82462, 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]. erbitten is at rank #39,314, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈbɪtn̩].

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 82462, this pair ranks #156,855 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of erbeuten vs erbitten

Shared letters: benrt. Private to "erbeuten": u. Private to "erbitten": i.

"erbeuten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC  ·  "erbitten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erbeuten ← ebreuten · erbbeuten · erbetuen · erbeuetn · erbeutenn · erbeutne · erbeutten · erbueten
  • erbitten ← ebritten · erbbitten · erbiten · erbitetn · erbittenn · erbittne · erbtiten · eribtten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erbeuten" and "erbitten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈbɔɪ̯tn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈbɪtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erbeuten" or "erbitten"?
"erbitten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,314 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.

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 "erbeuten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erbitten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #156,855 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erbeuten" and "erbitten" 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 #156,855 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