Which to use
“erlegen” and “erliegen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,699
- “erlegen” frequency rank
- #20,235
- “erliegen” frequency rank
- 44934
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erlegen | erliegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Tier bei der Jagd (durch einen Schuss) töten | an etwas sterben |
Where the eye mixes erlegen and erliegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erlegen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against erliegen's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erlegen vs erliegen
A purely visual mix-up. erlegen ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]) and erliegen ([ɛɐ̯ˈliːɡn̩]) 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 44934, 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]. erliegen is at rank #20,235, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈliːɡn̩].
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 44934, this pair ranks #1,369,887 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erlegen vs erliegen
Shared letters: eglnr. Private to "erlegen": -. Private to "erliegen": i.
"erlegen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "erliegen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erlegen" and "erliegen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erlegen" or "erliegen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erlegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erliegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,369,887 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erlegen" and "erliegen" 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 #1,369,887 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.