Which to use
“ergehen” and “erziehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,277
- “ergehen” frequency rank
- #12,905
- “erziehen” frequency rank
- 30182
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ergehen | erziehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | offiziell ausgestellt/festgestellt/zugestellt werden | jemandem Bildung und Wissen beibringen, jemandes Charakter formen (auf ein Ziel hin) |
Where the eye mixes ergehen and erziehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ergehen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against erziehen's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between ergehen and erziehen
A purely visual mix-up. ergehen ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən]) and erziehen ([ɛɐ̯ˈt͡siːən]) 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 30182, 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]. erziehen is at rank #12,905, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡siːən].
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 30182, this pair ranks #1,752,823 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ergehen vs erziehen
Shared letters: ehnr. Private to "ergehen": g. Private to "erziehen": iz.
"ergehen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "erziehen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ergehen" for "erziehen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ergehen" vs "erziehen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ergehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erziehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,752,823 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ergehen" and "erziehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ergehen 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 #1,752,823 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.