Which to use
“erbitten” and “erlitten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,314
- “erbitten” frequency rank
- #9,014
- “erlitten” frequency rank
- 48328
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erbitten | erlitten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden um etwas dringend bitten, dringend um etwas nachsuchen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erleiden |
Where the eye mixes erbitten and erlitten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between erbitten and erlitten
A purely visual mix-up. erbitten ([ɛɐ̯ˈbɪtn̩]) and erlitten ([ɛɐ̯ˈlɪtn̩]) 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 - b in “erbitten” becomes l in “erlitten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48328, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erbitten is recorded at frequency rank #39,314, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈbɪtn̩]. erlitten is at rank #9,014, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlɪtn̩].
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 48328, this pair ranks #1,252,582 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erbitten vs erlitten
Shared letters: einrt. Private to "erbitten": b. Private to "erlitten": l.
"erbitten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erlitten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erbitten" and "erlitten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erbitten" or "erlitten"?
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 "erbitten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlitten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,252,582 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erbitten" and "erlitten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erbeuten vs erbitten". 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 #1,252,582 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.