Which to use
“Erbse” and “Erle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,614
- “Erbse” frequency rank
- #48,856
- “Erle” frequency rank
- 95470
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Erbse | Erle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Same einer Hülsenfrucht | an feuchten Stellen wachsender Laubbaum der Gattung Alnus mit eingeschlechtigen Blüten in Kätzchen und rundlichen, verholzenden Fruchtzapfen |
Where the eye mixes Erbse and Erle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Erbse runs 5 letters (VCCCV) against Erle's 4 (VCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Erbse with Erle
A purely visual mix-up. Erbse ([ˈɛʁpsə]) and Erle ([ˈɛʁlə]) 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 95470, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Erbse is recorded at frequency rank #46,614, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁpsə]. Erle is at rank #48,856, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁlə].
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 95470, this pair ranks #11,508 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Erbse vs Erle
Shared letters: er. Private to "Erbse": bs. Private to "Erle": l.
"Erbse" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV · "Erle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Erbse" and "Erle" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Erbse" vs "Erle" - which ranks higher?
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 "Erbse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,508 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Erbse" and "Erle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "elm vs Erle". 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 #11,508 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.