ErbinvsErbsenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#30,533
“Erbin” frequency rank
#18,871
“Erbsen” frequency rank
49404
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Erbin Erbsen
Definition weibliche Person, der die Güter von Verstorbenen zufallen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Erbse

Where the eye mixes Erbin and Erbsen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Erbin
6 ch
Erbsen

Visual trap between Erbin and Erbsen

A purely visual mix-up. Erbin ([ˈɛʁbɪn]) and Erbsen ([ˈɛʁpsn̩]) 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 49404, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Erbin is recorded at frequency rank #30,533, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁbɪn]. Erbsen is at rank #18,871, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁpsn̩].

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 49404, this pair ranks #1,212,814 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Erbin vs Erbsen

Shared letters: benr. Private to "Erbin": i. Private to "Erbsen": s.

"Erbin" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "Erbsen" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Erbinebrin · erbbin · erbinn · erbni · eribn · errbin · rebin
  • Erbsenebrsen · erbbsen · erbesn · erbsenn · erbsne · erbssen · errbsen · ersben

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Erbin" for "Erbsen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛʁbɪn] versus [ˈɛʁpsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Erbin" or "Erbsen" show up more?
"Erbsen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,871 in our German list, against #30,533 for "Erbin". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Erbin" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Erbsen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,212,814 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Erbin" and "Erbsen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "EBIT vs Erbin". 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 #1,212,814 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