erfasstvserlässtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,370
“erfasst” frequency rank
#34,076
“erlässt” frequency rank
37446
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erfasst erlässt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erfassen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erlassen

Where the eye mixes erfasst and erlässt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erfasst and erlässt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
erfasst
7 ch
erlässt

Why the eye confuses erfasst with erlässt

A purely visual mix-up. erfasst ([ɛɐ̯ˈfast]) and erlässt ([ɛɐ̯ˈlɛst]) 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 37446, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erfasst is recorded at frequency rank #3,370, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfast]. erlässt is at rank #34,076, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlɛst].

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 37446, this pair ranks #1,590,018 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erfasst vs erlässt

Shared letters: erst. Private to "erfasst": af. Private to "erlässt": lä.

"erfasst" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC  ·  "erlässt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erfasst ← efrasst · erafsst · erfasstt · erfast · erfasts · erfaßt · erffasst · erfsast

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erfasst" and "erlässt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈfast] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈlɛst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erfasst" or "erlässt"?
"erfasst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,370 in our German list, against #34,076 for "erlässt". 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 "erfasst" and "erlässt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erfasst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erlässt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,590,018 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erfasst" and "erlässt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erlässt vs erlebst". 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 #1,590,018 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