ErbsevsErnteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,614
“Erbse” frequency rank
#7,313
“Ernte” frequency rank
53927
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Erbse Ernte
Definition Same einer Hülsenfrucht sämtliche Arbeiten, die zum Einbringen landwirtschaftlicher Gewächse und Früchte notwendig sind

Where the eye mixes Erbse and Ernte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Erbse and Ernte follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
Erbse
5 ch
Ernte

Visual trap between Erbse and Ernte

A purely visual mix-up. Erbse ([ˈɛʁpsə]) and Ernte ([ˈɛʁntə]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53927, 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]. Ernte is at rank #7,313, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁntə].

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 53927, this pair ranks #1,038,871 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Erbse vs Ernte

Shared letters: er. Private to "Erbse": bs. Private to "Ernte": nt.

"Erbse" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV  ·  "Ernte" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Erbse ← ebrse · erbbse · erbsse · errbse · ersbe · rebse
  • Ernte ← enrte · ernet · ernnte · erntte · errnte · ertne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Erbse" and "Ernte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛʁpsə] versus [ˈɛʁntə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Erbse" vs "Ernte" - which ranks higher?
"Ernte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,313 in our German list, against #46,614 for "Erbse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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 "Ernte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,038,871 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Erbse" and "Ernte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erbse 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 #1,038,871 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