ertragevsertragenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#28,180
“ertrage” frequency rank
#4,878
“ertragen” frequency rank
33058
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ertrage ertragen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ertragen eine unangenehme oder schwierige Situation hinnehmen und deswegen nicht die Beherrschung verlieren oder zusammenbrechen

Where the eye mixes ertrage and ertragen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ertrage runs 7 letters (VCCCVCV) against ertragen's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
ertrage
8 ch
ertragen

Visual trap between ertrage and ertragen

A purely visual mix-up. ertrage ([ɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “ertrage” sits inside “ertragen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33058, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ertrage is recorded at frequency rank #28,180, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡə]. 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 33058, this pair ranks #1,694,189 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ertrage vs ertragen

Shared letters: aegrt. Private to "ertrage": -. Private to "ertragen": n.

"ertrage" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV  ·  "ertragen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ertrage ← errtage · errtrage · ertarge · ertraeg · ertragge · ertrgae · ertrrage · erttrage
  • ertragen ← errtagen · errtragen · ertargen · ertraegn · ertragenn · ertraggen · ertragne · ertrgaen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ertrage" and "ertragen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡə] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "ertrage" or "ertragen" show up more?
"ertragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,878 in our German list, against #28,180 for "ertrage". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "ertrage" and "ertragen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ertrage" 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 #1,694,189 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ertrage" and "ertragen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfragen vs ertrage". 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 #1,694,189 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list