erbrechenvserrechnenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,871
“erbrechen” frequency rank
#38,723
“errechnen” frequency rank
56594
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erbrechen errechnen
Definition seinen Mageninhalt durch den Mund entleeren; sich übergeben ein Ergebnis durch Rechnen ermitteln

Where the eye mixes erbrechen and errechnen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erbrechen (VCCCVCCVC) and errechnen (VCCVCCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
erbrechen
9 ch
errechnen

Why the eye confuses erbrechen with errechnen

A purely visual mix-up. erbrechen ([ɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛçn̩]) and errechnen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʁɛçnən]) 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 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erbrechen is recorded at frequency rank #17,871, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛçn̩]. errechnen is at rank #38,723, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʁɛçnən].

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 56594, this pair ranks #934,229 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erbrechen vs errechnen

Shared letters: cehnr. Private to "erbrechen": b. Private to "errechnen": -.

"erbrechen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "errechnen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erbrechen ← ebrrechen · erbbrechen · erberchen · erbrcehen · erbrecchen · erbrecehn · erbrechenn · erbrechhen
  • errechnen ← erechnen · ererchnen · errcehnen · errecchnen · errechenn · errechhnen · errechnenn · errechnne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erbrechen" and "errechnen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛçn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʁɛçnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "erbrechen" or "errechnen" show up more?
"erbrechen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,871 in our German list, against #38,723 for "errechnen". 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 "erbrechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "errechnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #934,229 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erbrechen" and "errechnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "errechnen vs errechnete". 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 #934,229 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