ergebenvserlebeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,244
“ergeben” frequency rank
#13,352
“erlebe” frequency rank
15596
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
ergeben
6 ch
erlebe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

ergeben and erlebe form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15596, 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]. erlebe is at rank #13,352, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːbə].

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 15596, this pair ranks #1,942,613 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

ergeben#2,244
erlebe#13,352

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ergeben" and "erlebe" be used interchangeably?
No, "ergeben" and "erlebe" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering ergeben vs erlebe

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 “erlebe”.
  • 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