ergehenvserstehenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,277
“ergehen” frequency rank
#35,751
“erstehen” frequency rank
53028
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ergehen erstehen
Definition offiziell ausgestellt/festgestellt/zugestellt werden gegen Bezahlung erwerben

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
ergehen
8 ch
erstehen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ergehen ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən]) and erstehen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53028, 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]. erstehen is at rank #35,751, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən].

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 53028, this pair ranks #1,073,912 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ergehen vs erstehen

Shared letters: ehnr. Private to "ergehen": g. Private to "erstehen": st.

"ergehen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "erstehen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ergehenegrehen · ereghen · ergeehn · ergehenn · ergehhen · ergehne · erggehen · ergheen
  • erstehenerrstehen · ersethen · ersstehen · ersteehn · erstehenn · erstehhen · erstehne · erstheen

Frequency comparison

ergehen#17,277
erstehen#35,751

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ergehen" and "erstehen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ergehen" or "erstehen"?
"ergehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,277 in our German list, against #35,751 for "erstehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ergehen vs erstehen

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