Which to use
“erregen” is a verb and “Erregung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,875
- “erregen” frequency rank
- #20,236
- “Erregung” frequency rank
- 38111
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erregen | Erregung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden oder sich in Unruhe oder Ärger versetzen; jemanden aktivieren; jemanden (sexuell) stimulieren | eine Art seelischer Hochspannung |
Where the eye mixes erregen and Erregung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erregen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against Erregung's 8 (VCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erregen and Erregung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erregen is [ɛɐ̯ˈʁeːɡn̩] while Erregung is [ɛɐ̯ˈʁeːɡʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38111, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erregen is recorded at frequency rank #17,875, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʁeːɡn̩]. Erregung is at rank #20,236, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʁeːɡʊŋ].
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 38111, this pair ranks #1,572,492 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erregen vs Erregung
Shared letters: egnr. Private to "erregen": -. Private to "Erregung": u.
"erregen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "Erregung" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erregen" for "Erregung" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erregen" or "Erregung" show up more?
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 "erregen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erregung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,572,492 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erregen" and "Erregung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erregen 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 #1,572,492 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.