Which to use
“erlaubte” and “erlebte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,644
- “erlaubte” frequency rank
- #7,040
- “erlebte” frequency rank
- 18684
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlaubte | erlebte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erlaubt | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erlebt |
Where the eye mixes erlaubte and erlebte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erlaubte runs 8 letters (VCCVVCCV) against erlebte's 7 (VCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erlaubte and erlebte
A purely visual mix-up. erlaubte ([ɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯ptə]) and erlebte ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːptə]) 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 18684, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlaubte is recorded at frequency rank #11,644, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯ptə]. erlebte is at rank #7,040, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːptə].
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 18684, this pair ranks #1,915,893 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erlaubte vs erlebte
Shared letters: belrt. Private to "erlaubte": au. Private to "erlebte": -.
"erlaubte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCCV · "erlebte" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erlaubte" for "erlebte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erlaubte" or "erlebte"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "erlaubte" and "erlebte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erlaubte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlebte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,915,893 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlaubte" and "erlebte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erhebe vs erlebte". 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 #1,915,893 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.