erbtvserlebtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,912
“erbt” frequency rank
#1,879
“erlebt” frequency rank
41791
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erbt erlebt
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erben Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erleben

Where the eye mixes erbt and erlebt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. erbt runs 4 letters (VCCC) against erlebt's 6 (VCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
erbt
6 ch
erlebt

Visual trap between erbt and erlebt

A purely visual mix-up. erbt ([ɛʁpt]) and erlebt ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːpt]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41791, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erbt is recorded at frequency rank #39,912, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛʁpt]. erlebt is at rank #1,879, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːpt].

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 41791, this pair ranks #1,468,957 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erbt vs erlebt

Shared letters: bert. Private to "erbt": -. Private to "erlebt": l.

"erbt" · 4 letters · shape VCCC  ·  "erlebt" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erbt ← erbbt · erbtt · errbt · ertb · rebt
  • erlebt ← elrebt · erelbt · erlbet · erlebbt · erlebtt · erletb · erllebt · errlebt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "erbt" for "erlebt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛʁpt] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈleːpt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erbt" vs "erlebt" - which ranks higher?
"erlebt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,879 in our German list, against #39,912 for "erbt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "erbt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erlebt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,468,957 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erbt" and "erlebt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erbt 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 #1,468,957 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