Which to use
“ergeht” and “erlegt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,324
- “ergeht” frequency rank
- #30,537
- “erlegt” frequency rank
- 52861
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ergeht | erlegt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ergehen | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erlegen |
Where the eye mixes ergeht and erlegt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ergeht and erlegt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses ergeht with erlegt
A purely visual mix-up. ergeht ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːt]) and erlegt ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːkt]) 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 52861, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ergeht is recorded at frequency rank #22,324, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːt]. erlegt is at rank #30,537, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːkt].
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 52861, this pair ranks #1,080,439 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ergeht vs erlegt
Shared letters: egrt. Private to "ergeht": h. Private to "erlegt": l.
"ergeht" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "erlegt" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ergeht" for "erlegt" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ergeht" vs "erlegt" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "ergeht" and "erlegt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ergeht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlegt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,080,439 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ergeht" and "erlegt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erle vs erlegt". 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 #1,080,439 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.