Which to use
“erlassen” and “erlauben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,909
- “erlassen” frequency rank
- #3,575
- “erlauben” frequency rank
- 11484
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlassen | erlauben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine staatliche Anordnung treffen und verkünden | jemandem die Zustimmung oder die Möglichkeit geben |
Where the eye mixes erlassen and erlauben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erlassen (VCCVCCVC) and erlauben (VCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses erlassen with erlauben
A purely visual mix-up. erlassen ([ɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩]) 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 11484, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlassen is recorded at frequency rank #7,909, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩]. 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 11484, this pair ranks #1,969,658 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erlassen vs erlauben
Shared letters: aelnr. Private to "erlassen": s. Private to "erlauben": bu.
"erlassen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erlauben" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erlassen" and "erlauben" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erlassen" vs "erlauben" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "erlassen" and "erlauben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erlassen" 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 #1,969,658 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlassen" and "erlauben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erlauben vs erwarben". 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 #1,969,658 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.