Which to use
“ergehen” and “erwehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,277
- “ergehen” frequency rank
- #43,154
- “erwehren” frequency rank
- 60431
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ergehen | erwehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | offiziell ausgestellt/festgestellt/zugestellt werden | sich gegen jemanden oder etwas zur Wehr setzen, gegenan kämpfen |
Where the eye mixes ergehen and erwehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ergehen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against erwehren's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between ergehen and erwehren
A purely visual mix-up. ergehen ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən]) and erwehren ([ɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən]) 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 60431, 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]. erwehren is at rank #43,154, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən].
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 60431, this pair ranks #787,278 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ergehen vs erwehren
Shared letters: ehnr. Private to "ergehen": g. Private to "erwehren": w.
"ergehen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "erwehren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ergehen" and "erwehren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ergehen" vs "erwehren" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "ergehen" and "erwehren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ergehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #787,278 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ergehen" and "erwehren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfuhren vs erwehren". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #787,278 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.