Which to use
“erstatten” is a verb and “Erstattung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,276
- “erstatten” frequency rank
- #23,506
- “Erstattung” frequency rank
- 35782
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstatten | Erstattung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem Geld zurückgeben, das er für etwas ausgegeben hat | das Zurückgeben, Ersetzen |
Where the eye mixes erstatten and Erstattung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erstatten runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against Erstattung's 10 (VCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erstatten vs Erstattung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erstatten is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtatn̩] while Erstattung is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtatʊŋ]. 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 35782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erstatten is recorded at frequency rank #12,276, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtatn̩]. Erstattung is at rank #23,506, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtatʊŋ].
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 35782, this pair ranks #1,631,670 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erstatten vs Erstattung
Shared letters: aenrst. Private to "erstatten": -. Private to "Erstattung": gu.
"erstatten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "Erstattung" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erstatten ← errstatten · ersattten · ersstatten · erstaten · erstatetn · erstattenn · erstattne · ersttaten
- Erstattung ← errstattung · ersatttung · ersstattung · erstattnug · erstattugn · erstattungg · erstattunng · erstatung
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erstatten" for "Erstattung" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erstatten" vs "Erstattung" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erstatten" and "Erstattung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erstatten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erstattung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,631,670 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstatten" and "Erstattung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erstarren vs erstatten". 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 #1,631,670 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.