ErlassvserlassenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Erlass is a noun, erlassen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Erlass” is a noun and “erlassen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,862
“Erlass” frequency rank
#7,909
“erlassen” frequency rank
19771
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Erlass erlassen
Definition Anordnung, Anweisung mit amtlichem Charakter eine staatliche Anordnung treffen und verkünden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Erlass and erlassen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Erlass
8 ch
erlassen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Erlass and erlassen form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Erlass” sits inside “erlassen” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19771, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Erlass is recorded at frequency rank #11,862, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlas]. erlassen is at rank #7,909, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩].

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 19771, this pair ranks #1,904,743 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

Erlass#11,862
erlassen#7,909

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Erlass" and "erlassen" be used interchangeably?
No, "Erlass" and "erlassen" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering Erlass vs erlassen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Erlass”; for a verb, it's “erlassen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Erlass” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list