Which to use
“erlangen” and “erlegen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,885
- “erlangen” frequency rank
- #24,699
- “erlegen” frequency rank
- 28584
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlangen | erlegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Besitz nehmen, habhaft werden, erreichen | ein Tier bei der Jagd (durch einen Schuss) töten |
Where the eye mixes erlangen and erlegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erlangen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against erlegen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erlangen and erlegen
A purely visual mix-up. erlangen ([ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋən]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28584, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlangen is recorded at frequency rank #3,885, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋən]. 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 28584, this pair ranks #1,782,174 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erlangen vs erlegen
Shared letters: eglnr. Private to "erlangen": a. Private to "erlegen": -.
"erlangen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erlegen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erlangen" for "erlegen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erlangen" or "erlegen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erlangen" and "erlegen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erlangen" 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 #1,782,174 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlangen" 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 #1,782,174 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.