ergebevsergebenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ergebe is a verb, ergeben is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ergebe” is a verb and “ergeben” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#29,110
“ergebe” frequency rank
#2,244
“ergeben” frequency rank
31354
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ergebe ergeben
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ergeben bereit, jemandem zu dienen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ergebe and ergeben apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
ergebe
7 ch
ergeben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ergebe is [ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbə] while ergeben is [ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ergebe” sits inside “ergeben”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31354, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ergebe is recorded at frequency rank #29,110, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbə]. ergeben is at rank #2,244, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbn̩].

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 31354, this pair ranks #1,729,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ergebe vs ergeben

Shared letters: begr. Private to "ergebe": -. Private to "ergeben": n.

"ergebe" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "ergeben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ergebeegrebe · eregbe · ergbee · ergebbe · ergeeb · erggebe · errgebe · regebe
  • ergebenegreben · eregben · ergbeen · ergebben · ergebenn · ergebne · ergeebn · erggeben

Frequency comparison

ergebe#29,110
ergeben#2,244

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ergebe" and "ergeben" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ergebe" is a verb and "ergeben" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ergebe" or "ergeben"?
"ergeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,244 in our German list, against #29,110 for "ergebe". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering ergebe vs ergeben

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “ergebe”; for an adjective, it's “ergeben”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ergebe” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list