ErlösevsErlöserTell them apart

Which to use

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

#20,574
“Erlöse” frequency rank
#24,325
“Erlöser” frequency rank
44899
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Erlöse Erlöser
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Erlös (männliche^☆) Person, die jemanden von etwas befreit/erlöst

Where the eye mixes Erlöse and Erlöser

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Erlöse runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against Erlöser's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Erlöse
7 ch
Erlöser

Why the eye confuses Erlöse with Erlöser

A purely visual mix-up. Erlöse ([ɛɐ̯ˈløːzə]) and Erlöser ([ɛɐ̯ˈløːzɐ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Erlöse” sits inside “Erlöser”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44899, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Erlöse is recorded at frequency rank #20,574, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈløːzə]. Erlöser is at rank #24,325, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈløːzɐ].

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 44899, this pair ranks #1,371,035 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Erlöse vs Erlöser

Shared letters: elrsö. Private to "Erlöse": -. Private to "Erlöser": -.

"Erlöse" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "Erlöser" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Erlöse" and "Erlöser" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈløːzə] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈløːzɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Erlöse" or "Erlöser" show up more?
"Erlöse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,574 in our German list, against #24,325 for "Erlöser". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Erlöse" and "Erlöser" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Erlöse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Erlöser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,371,035 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Erlöse" and "Erlöser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erle vs Erlöse". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,371,035 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