Which to use
“Ermessen” is a noun and “erweisen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,409
- “Ermessen” frequency rank
- #10,272
- “erweisen” frequency rank
- 26681
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ermessen | erweisen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Auswahl zwischen mehreren gleichermaßen rechtmäßigen Möglichkeiten bei einer behördlichen oder richterlichen Entscheidung (Verwaltungsakt, Urteil, Beschluss) | einen Nachweis erbringen |
Where the eye mixes Ermessen and erweisen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Ermessen (VCCVCCVC) and erweisen (VCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Ermessen and erweisen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Ermessen is [ɛɐ̯ˈmɛsn̩] while erweisen is [ɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯zn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26681, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ermessen is recorded at frequency rank #16,409, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈmɛsn̩]. erweisen is at rank #10,272, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯zn̩].
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 26681, this pair ranks #1,814,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Ermessen vs erweisen
Shared letters: enrs. Private to "Ermessen": m. Private to "erweisen": iw.
"Ermessen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erweisen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Ermessen" and "erweisen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Ermessen" or "erweisen"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ermessen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erweisen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,814,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ermessen" and "erweisen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwehren vs erweisen". 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 #1,814,162 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.