ErdvsErleWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#28,634
“Erd” frequency rank
#48,856
“Erle” frequency rank
77490
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Erd Erle
Definition der Planet Erde an feuchten Stellen wachsender Laubbaum der Gattung Alnus mit eingeschlechtigen Blüten in Kätzchen und rundlichen, verholzenden Fruchtzapfen

Where the eye mixes Erd and Erle

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Erd runs 3 letters (VCC) against Erle's 4 (VCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

3 ch
Erd
4 ch
Erle

Visual trap between Erd and Erle

A purely visual mix-up. Erd ([ʕɛɾd]) 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 77490, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Erd is recorded at frequency rank #28,634, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʕɛɾd]. 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 77490, this pair ranks #259,529 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Erd vs Erle

Shared letters: er. Private to "Erd": d. Private to "Erle": l.

"Erd" · 3 letters · shape VCC  ·  "Erle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Erle ← elre · erel · erlle · errle · rele

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Erd" and "Erle" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʕɛɾd] versus [ˈɛʁlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Erd" or "Erle" show up more?
"Erd" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,634 in our German list, against #48,856 for "Erle". 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 "Erd" 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 #259,529 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Erd" and "Erle" 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 #259,529 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