Which to use
“erraten” and “ertragen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,875
- “erraten” frequency rank
- #4,878
- “ertragen” frequency rank
- 20753
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erraten | ertragen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Antwort auf eine Frage, ohne die Antwort zu wissen, richtig beantworten | eine unangenehme oder schwierige Situation hinnehmen und deswegen nicht die Beherrschung verlieren oder zusammenbrechen |
Where the eye mixes erraten and ertragen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erraten runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against ertragen's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erraten vs ertragen
A purely visual mix-up. erraten ([ɛɐ̯ˈʁaːtn̩]) and ertragen ([ɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 20753, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erraten is recorded at frequency rank #15,875, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʁaːtn̩]. ertragen is at rank #4,878, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩].
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 20753, this pair ranks #1,894,147 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erraten vs ertragen
Shared letters: aenrt. Private to "erraten": -. Private to "ertragen": g.
"erraten" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "ertragen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erraten" and "ertragen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erraten" or "ertragen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erraten" and "ertragen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erraten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ertragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,894,147 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erraten" and "ertragen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erraten 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 #1,894,147 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.