erregenvsertragenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,875
“erregen” frequency rank
#4,878
“ertragen” frequency rank
22753
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erregen ertragen
Definition jemanden oder sich in Unruhe oder Ärger versetzen; jemanden aktivieren; jemanden (sexuell) stimulieren eine unangenehme oder schwierige Situation hinnehmen und deswegen nicht die Beherrschung verlieren oder zusammenbrechen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erregen and ertragen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
erregen
8 ch
ertragen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erregen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʁeːɡn̩]) 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 22753, 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]. 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 22753, this pair ranks #1,870,211 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erregen vs ertragen

Shared letters: egnr. Private to "erregen": -. Private to "ertragen": at.

"erregen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "ertragen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erregeneregen · erergen · erreegn · erregenn · erreggen · erregne · errgeen · reregen
  • ertragenerrtagen · errtragen · ertargen · ertraegn · ertragenn · ertraggen · ertragne · ertrgaen

Frequency comparison

erregen#17,875
ertragen#4,878

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erregen" and "ertragen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈʁeːɡn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erregen" or "ertragen"?
"ertragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,878 in our German list, against #17,875 for "erregen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erregen vs ertragen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erregen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list