Which to use
“erlebt” and “erlegt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,879
- “erlebt” frequency rank
- #30,537
- “erlegt” frequency rank
- 32416
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlebt | erlegt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erleben | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erlegen |
Where the eye mixes erlebt and erlegt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erlebt and erlegt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses erlebt with erlegt
A purely visual mix-up. erlebt ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːpt]) and erlegt ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːkt]) 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 “erlebt” becomes g in “erlegt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32416, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlebt is recorded at frequency rank #1,879, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːpt]. erlegt is at rank #30,537, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːkt].
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 32416, this pair ranks #1,708,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erlebt vs erlegt
Shared letters: elrt. Private to "erlebt": b. Private to "erlegt": g.
"erlebt" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "erlegt" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erlebt" and "erlegt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "erlebt" vs "erlegt" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erlebt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlegt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,708,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlebt" and "erlegt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erle vs erlegt". 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 #1,708,033 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.