ErektionvsExekutionWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,032
“Erektion” frequency rank
#33,575
“Exekution” frequency rank
63607
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Erektion Exekution
Definition parasympathisch gesteuerte Reaktion des Schwellkörpers von Penis beziehungsweise Klitoris auf einen mechanischen oder psychisch ausgelösten Reiz Vollstreckung der Todesstrafe

Where the eye mixes Erektion and Exekution

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
Erektion
9 ch
Exekution

Why the eye confuses Erektion with Exekution

A purely visual mix-up. Erektion ([eʁɛkˈt͡si̯oːn]) and Exekution ([ɛksekuˈt͡si̯oːn]) 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 63607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Erektion is recorded at frequency rank #30,032, classified as anoun, pronounced [eʁɛkˈt͡si̯oːn]. Exekution is at rank #33,575, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛksekuˈt͡si̯oːn].

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 63607, this pair ranks #670,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Erektion vs Exekution

Shared letters: eiknot. Private to "Erektion": r. Private to "Exekution": ux.

"Erektion" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVVC  ·  "Exekution" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Erektioneerktion · erekiton · erekktion · erektino · erektionn · erektoin · erekttion · eretkion
  • Exekutioneexkution · exekkution · exektuion · exekuiton · exekutino · exekutionn · exekutoin · exekuttion

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Erektion" and "Exekution" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([eʁɛkˈt͡si̯oːn] versus [ɛksekuˈt͡si̯oːn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Erektion" or "Exekution" show up more?
"Erektion" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,032 in our German list, against #33,575 for "Exekution". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Erektion" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Exekution" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #670,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Erektion" and "Exekution" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Elektron vs Erektion". 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 #670,777 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