Which to use
“erheben” and “erlegen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,077
- “erheben” frequency rank
- #24,699
- “erlegen” frequency rank
- 29776
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erheben | erlegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden oder etwas (physisch oder gesellschaftlich) in eine höhere Position bringen | ein Tier bei der Jagd (durch einen Schuss) töten |
Where the eye mixes erheben and erlegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erheben and erlegen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between erheben and erlegen
A purely visual mix-up. erheben ([ɛɐ̯ˈheːbn̩]) and erlegen ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]) 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 29776, 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]. erlegen is at rank #24,699, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩].
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 29776, this pair ranks #1,760,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erheben vs erlegen
Shared letters: enr. Private to "erheben": bh. Private to "erlegen": gl.
"erheben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "erlegen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erheben" and "erlegen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erheben" or "erlegen"?
Useful next steps
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 "erlegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,760,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erheben" and "erlegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erlegen vs erregten". 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 #1,760,527 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.