Which to use
“ernähre” and “erwähne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,252
- “ernähre” frequency rank
- #25,539
- “erwähne” frequency rank
- 70791
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ernähre | erwähne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ernähren | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erwähnen |
Where the eye mixes ernähre and erwähne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. ernähre and erwähne follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses ernähre with erwähne
A purely visual mix-up. ernähre ([ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁə]) and erwähne ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnə]) 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 70791, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ernähre is recorded at frequency rank #45,252, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁə]. erwähne is at rank #25,539, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnə].
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 70791, this pair ranks #435,667 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ernähre vs erwähne
Shared letters: ehnrä. Private to "ernähre": -. Private to "erwähne": w.
"ernähre" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "erwähne" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ernähre" and "erwähne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "ernähre" or "erwähne" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "ernähre" and "erwähne" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ernähre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwähne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #435,667 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ernähre" and "erwähne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwähne vs erwähnst". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #435,667 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.