Which to use
“erleben” and “erlegen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,878
- “erleben” frequency rank
- #24,699
- “erlegen” frequency rank
- 26577
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erleben | erlegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Erfahrung machen, bei etwas dabei sein | ein Tier bei der Jagd (durch einen Schuss) töten |
Where the eye mixes erleben and erlegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: erleben vs erlegen
A purely visual mix-up. erleben ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːbn̩]) and erlegen ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]) 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 a single letter - b in “erleben” becomes g in “erlegen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erleben is recorded at frequency rank #1,878, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːbn̩]. erlegen is at rank #24,699, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩].
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 26577, this pair ranks #1,815,895 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erleben vs erlegen
Shared letters: elnr. Private to "erleben": b. Private to "erlegen": g.
"erleben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "erlegen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erleben" and "erlegen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "erleben" vs "erlegen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erleben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,815,895 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erleben" and "erlegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erlegen vs erregten". 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 #1,815,895 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.