Which to use
“erlangte” and “erlaubte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,280
- “erlangte” frequency rank
- #11,644
- “erlaubte” frequency rank
- 28924
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlangte | erlaubte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erlangt | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erlaubt |
Where the eye mixes erlangte and erlaubte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erlangte (VCCVCCCV) and erlaubte (VCCVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between erlangte and erlaubte
A purely visual mix-up. erlangte ([ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋtə]) and erlaubte ([ɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯ptə]) 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 28924, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlangte is recorded at frequency rank #17,280, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaŋtə]. erlaubte is at rank #11,644, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯ptə].
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 28924, this pair ranks #1,776,119 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erlangte vs erlaubte
Shared letters: aelrt. Private to "erlangte": gn. Private to "erlaubte": bu.
"erlangte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV · "erlaubte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erlangte" and "erlaubte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erlangte" or "erlaubte"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erlangte" and "erlaubte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erlangte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlaubte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,776,119 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlangte" and "erlaubte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erlanger vs erlangte". 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 #1,776,119 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.