Which to use
“Erle” and “ewe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,856
- “Erle” frequency rank
- #34,085
- “ewe” frequency rank
- 82941
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Erle | ewe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an feuchten Stellen wachsender Laubbaum der Gattung Alnus mit eingeschlechtigen Blüten in Kätzchen und rundlichen, verholzenden Fruchtzapfen | Ramme, weibliches Schaf, Mutterschaf |
Where the eye mixes Erle and ewe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Erle with ewe
A purely visual mix-up. Erle ([ˈɛʁlə]) and ewe ([juː]) 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 82941, 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]. ewe is at rank #34,085, tagged as anoun, pronounced [juː].
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 82941, this pair ranks #148,347 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Erle vs ewe
Shared letters: e. Private to "Erle": lr. Private to "ewe": w.
"Erle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ewe" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Erle ← elre · erel · erlle · errle · rele
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Erle" for "ewe" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Erle" or "ewe" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Erle" and "ewe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Erle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ewe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #148,347 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Erle" and "ewe" 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 #148,347 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.