ergehenvserhebenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,277
“ergehen” frequency rank
#5,077
“erheben” frequency rank
22354
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ergehen erheben
Definition offiziell ausgestellt/festgestellt/zugestellt werden jemanden oder etwas (physisch oder gesellschaftlich) in eine höhere Position bringen

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
ergehen
7 ch
erheben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ergehen ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən]) and erheben ([ɛɐ̯ˈheːbn̩]) 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 22354, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ergehen is recorded at frequency rank #17,277, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən]. erheben is at rank #5,077, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈheːbn̩].

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 22354, this pair ranks #1,875,195 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ergehen vs erheben

Shared letters: ehnr. Private to "ergehen": g. Private to "erheben": b.

"ergehen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "erheben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ergehenegrehen · ereghen · ergeehn · ergehenn · ergehhen · ergehne · erggehen · ergheen
  • erhebenehreben · erehben · erhbeen · erhebben · erhebenn · erhebne · erheebn · erhheben

Frequency comparison

ergehen#17,277
erheben#5,077

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ergehen" and "erheben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈheːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ergehen" or "erheben"?
"erheben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,077 in our German list, against #17,277 for "ergehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ergehen vs erheben

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ergehen” 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