Which to use
“erkaufen” and “erlauben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,297
- “erkaufen” frequency rank
- #3,575
- “erlauben” frequency rank
- 39872
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkaufen | erlauben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas durch Anstrengung oder Opfer erlangen | jemandem die Zustimmung oder die Möglichkeit geben |
Where the eye mixes erkaufen and erlauben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erkaufen and erlauben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erkaufen vs erlauben
A purely visual mix-up. erkaufen ([ɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]) and erlauben ([ɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯bn̩]) 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 39872, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkaufen is recorded at frequency rank #36,297, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]. erlauben is at rank #3,575, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯bn̩].
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 39872, this pair ranks #1,524,520 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erkaufen vs erlauben
Shared letters: aenru. Private to "erkaufen": fk. Private to "erlauben": bl.
"erkaufen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "erlauben" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erkaufen" and "erlauben" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erkaufen" vs "erlauben" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erkaufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlauben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,524,520 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkaufen" and "erlauben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erkaufen vs erkauft". 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 #1,524,520 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.