ergebenvserhebeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,244
“ergeben” frequency rank
#39,318
“erhebe” frequency rank
41562
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ergeben and erhebe apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
ergeben
6 ch
erhebe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ergeben is [ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbn̩] while erhebe is [ɛɐ̯ˈheːbə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41562, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ergeben is recorded at frequency rank #2,244, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbn̩]. erhebe is at rank #39,318, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈheːbə].

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 41562, this pair ranks #1,475,745 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ergeben vs erhebe

Shared letters: ber. Private to "ergeben": gn. Private to "erhebe": h.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ergebenegreben · eregben · ergbeen · ergebben · ergebenn · ergebne · ergeebn · erggeben
  • erhebeehrebe · erehbe · erhbee · erhebbe · erheeb · erhhebe · errhebe · rehebe

Frequency comparison

ergeben#2,244
erhebe#39,318

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ergeben" and "erhebe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ergeben" is an adjective and "erhebe" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ergeben" or "erhebe"?
"ergeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,244 in our German list, against #39,318 for "erhebe". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering ergeben vs erhebe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “ergeben”; for a verb, it's “erhebe”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ergeben” 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