Which to use
“erstehen” and “ersuchen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,751
- “erstehen” frequency rank
- #28,179
- “ersuchen” frequency rank
- 63930
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstehen | ersuchen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gegen Bezahlung erwerben | höflich um etwas bitten |
Where the eye mixes erstehen and ersuchen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses erstehen with ersuchen
A purely visual mix-up. erstehen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən]) and ersuchen ([ɛɐ̯ˈzuːxn̩]) 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 63930, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erstehen is recorded at frequency rank #35,751, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən]. ersuchen is at rank #28,179, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈzuːxn̩].
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 63930, this pair ranks #659,327 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erstehen vs ersuchen
Shared letters: ehnrs. Private to "erstehen": t. Private to "ersuchen": cu.
"erstehen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "ersuchen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erstehen" for "ersuchen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erstehen" or "ersuchen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erstehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ersuchen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #659,327 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstehen" and "ersuchen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erstehen vs ersterem". 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 #659,327 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.