Which to use
“Erle” is a noun and “erste” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,856
- “Erle” frequency rank
- #250
- “erste” frequency rank
- 49106
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Erle | erste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an feuchten Stellen wachsender Laubbaum der Gattung Alnus mit eingeschlechtigen Blüten in Kätzchen und rundlichen, verholzenden Fruchtzapfen | (zeitlich oder örtlich oder in einer anderen Reihenfolge) an vorderster Stelle sich befindend, dem zweiten vorangehend |
Where the eye mixes Erle and erste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Erle vs erste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Erle is [ˈɛʁlə] while erste is [ˈeːɐ̯stə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49106, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Erle is recorded at frequency rank #48,856, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁlə]. erste is at rank #250, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stə].
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 49106, this pair ranks #1,223,886 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Erle vs erste
Shared letters: er. Private to "Erle": l. Private to "erste": st.
"Erle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "erste" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Erle" and "erste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Erle" or "erste" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Erle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,223,886 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Erle" and "erste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erbse vs Erle". 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 #1,223,886 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.