Which to use
“erlegen” and “erlernen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,699
- “erlegen” frequency rank
- #10,645
- “erlernen” frequency rank
- 35344
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlegen | erlernen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Tier bei der Jagd (durch einen Schuss) töten | etwas begreifen und üben (lernen), meist über längere Zeit hinweg und mit dem Ziel, es zu können/beherrschen |
Where the eye mixes erlegen and erlernen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses erlegen with erlernen
A purely visual mix-up. erlegen ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]) and erlernen ([ɛɐ̯ˈlɛʁnən]) 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 35344, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erlegen is recorded at frequency rank #24,699, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]. erlernen is at rank #10,645, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlɛʁnən].
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 35344, this pair ranks #1,642,247 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erlegen vs erlernen
Shared letters: elnr. Private to "erlegen": g. Private to "erlernen": -.
"erlegen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "erlernen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erlegen" and "erlernen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erlegen" or "erlernen"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "erlegen" and "erlernen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erlegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlernen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,642,247 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlegen" and "erlernen" 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 #1,642,247 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.