ergehenvserregenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,277
“ergehen” frequency rank
#17,875
“erregen” frequency rank
35152
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ergehen erregen
Definition offiziell ausgestellt/festgestellt/zugestellt werden jemanden oder sich in Unruhe oder Ärger versetzen; jemanden aktivieren; jemanden (sexuell) stimulieren

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
ergehen
7 ch
erregen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ergehen ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən]) and erregen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʁeːɡn̩]) 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 35152, 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]. erregen is at rank #17,875, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʁeːɡn̩].

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 35152, this pair ranks #1,646,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ergehen vs erregen

Shared letters: egnr. Private to "ergehen": h. Private to "erregen": -.

"ergehen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "erregen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ergehenegrehen · ereghen · ergeehn · ergehenn · ergehhen · ergehne · erggehen · ergheen
  • erregeneregen · erergen · erreegn · erregenn · erreggen · erregne · errgeen · reregen

Frequency comparison

ergehen#17,277
erregen#17,875

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ergehen" and "erregen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʁeːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ergehen" or "erregen"?
"ergehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,277 in our German list, against #17,875 for "erregen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ergehen vs erregen

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