erledigenvserleidenTell them apart

Which to use

“erledigen” and “erleiden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,078
“erledigen” frequency rank
#15,345
“erleiden” frequency rank
20423
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erledigen erleiden
Definition etwas fertig machen; zu Ende bringen; eine Arbeit tun, die noch aussteht etwas körperlich oder seelisch Unangenehmes erleben; eine unangenehme Erfahrung machen

Where the eye mixes erledigen and erleiden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erledigen runs 9 letters (VCCVCVCVC) against erleiden's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
erledigen
8 ch
erleiden

Visual trap between erledigen and erleiden

A purely visual mix-up. erledigen ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːdɪɡn̩]) and erleiden ([ɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯dn̩]) 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 20423, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erledigen is recorded at frequency rank #5,078, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːdɪɡn̩]. erleiden is at rank #15,345, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯dn̩].

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 20423, this pair ranks #1,897,842 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erledigen vs erleiden

Shared letters: deilnr. Private to "erledigen": g. Private to "erleiden": -.

"erledigen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "erleiden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erledigenelredigen · ereldigen · erldeigen · erleddigen · erledgien · erlediegn · erledigenn · erlediggen
  • erleidenelreiden · ereliden · erledien · erleidden · erleidenn · erleidne · erleiedn · erlieden

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erledigen" and "erleiden" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːdɪɡn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯dn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erledigen" vs "erleiden" - which ranks higher?
"erledigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,078 in our German list, against #15,345 for "erleiden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "erledigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erleiden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,897,842 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erledigen" and "erleiden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erledige vs erledigen". 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 #1,897,842 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list