erlegtvserlöstConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#30,537
“erlegt” frequency rank
#21,590
“erlöst” frequency rank
52127
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erlegt erlöst
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erlegen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erlösen

Where the eye mixes erlegt and erlöst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. erlegt and erlöst follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
erlegt
6 ch
erlöst

Why the eye confuses erlegt with erlöst

A purely visual mix-up. erlegt ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːkt]) and erlöst ([ɛɐ̯ˈløːst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52127, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erlegt is recorded at frequency rank #30,537, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈleːkt]. erlöst is at rank #21,590, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈløːst].

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 52127, this pair ranks #1,108,986 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erlegt vs erlöst

Shared letters: elrt. Private to "erlegt": g. Private to "erlöst": .

"erlegt" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "erlöst" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erlegtelregt · erelgt · erleggt · erlegtt · erletg · erlget · erllegt · errlegt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "erlegt" for "erlöst" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈleːkt] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈløːst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erlegt" vs "erlöst" - which ranks higher?
"erlöst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,590 in our German list, against #30,537 for "erlegt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erlegt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erlöst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,108,986 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erlegt" and "erlöst" 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 #1,108,986 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