Which to use
“erhellen” and “erteilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,152
- “erhellen” frequency rank
- #9,897
- “erteilen” frequency rank
- 53049
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erhellen | erteilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | für mehr Licht (Helligkeit) sorgen, etwas heller werden lassen | jemandem etwas zukommen lassen |
Where the eye mixes erhellen and erteilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses erhellen with erteilen
A purely visual mix-up. erhellen ([ɛɐ̯ˈhɛlən]) and erteilen ([ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯lən]) 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 53049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erhellen is recorded at frequency rank #43,152, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhɛlən]. erteilen is at rank #9,897, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯lən].
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 53049, this pair ranks #1,073,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erhellen vs erteilen
Shared letters: elnr. Private to "erhellen": h. Private to "erteilen": it.
"erhellen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erteilen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erhellen" for "erteilen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erhellen" vs "erteilen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erhellen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erteilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,073,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erhellen" and "erteilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Eizellen vs erhellen". 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 #1,073,086 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.