erbrechenvserreichenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#17,871
“erbrechen” frequency rank
#826
“erreichen” frequency rank
18697
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erbrechen erreichen
Definition seinen Mageninhalt durch den Mund entleeren; sich übergeben zu jemandem oder zu etwas hingelangen

Where the eye mixes erbrechen and erreichen

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

9 ch
erbrechen
9 ch
erreichen

Why the eye confuses erbrechen with erreichen

A purely visual mix-up. erbrechen ([ɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛçn̩]) and erreichen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʁaɪ̯çn̩]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18697, 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]. erreichen is at rank #826, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʁaɪ̯çn̩].

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 18697, this pair ranks #1,915,769 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erbrechen vs erreichen

Shared letters: cehnr. Private to "erbrechen": b. Private to "erreichen": i.

"erbrechen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "erreichen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erbrechen ← ebrrechen · erbbrechen · erberchen · erbrcehen · erbrecchen · erbrecehn · erbrechenn · erbrechhen
  • erreichen ← ereichen · ererichen · errecihen · erreicchen · erreicehn · erreichenn · erreichhen · erreichne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erbrechen" and "erreichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛçn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʁaɪ̯çn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erbrechen" or "erreichen"?
"erreichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #826 in our German list, against #17,871 for "erbrechen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "erbrechen" and "erreichen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erbrechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erreichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,915,769 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erbrechen" and "erreichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erbrechen vs errechnen". 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 #1,915,769 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