Which to use
“erheben” and “erlebe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,077
- “erheben” frequency rank
- #13,352
- “erlebe” frequency rank
- 18429
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erheben | erlebe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden oder etwas (physisch oder gesellschaftlich) in eine höhere Position bringen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erleben |
Where the eye mixes erheben and erlebe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erheben runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against erlebe's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erheben and erlebe
A purely visual mix-up. erheben ([ɛɐ̯ˈheːbn̩]) and erlebe ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːbə]) 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 18429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erheben is recorded at frequency rank #5,077, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈheːbn̩]. erlebe is at rank #13,352, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːbə].
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 18429, this pair ranks #1,918,315 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erheben vs erlebe
Shared letters: ber. Private to "erheben": hn. Private to "erlebe": l.
"erheben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "erlebe" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erheben" and "erlebe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "erheben" vs "erlebe" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erheben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlebe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,918,315 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erheben" and "erlebe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erle vs erlebe". 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 #1,918,315 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.