Which to use
“erwähnen” and “erwehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,697
- “erwähnen” frequency rank
- #43,154
- “erwehren” frequency rank
- 47851
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwähnen | erwehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas nebenbei und beiläufig aussprechen/anführen, zur Sprache bringen | sich gegen jemanden oder etwas zur Wehr setzen, gegenan kämpfen |
Where the eye mixes erwähnen and erwehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erwähnen and erwehren follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses erwähnen with erwehren
A purely visual mix-up. erwähnen ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnən]) and erwehren ([ɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən]) 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 47851, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erwähnen is recorded at frequency rank #4,697, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnən]. erwehren is at rank #43,154, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən].
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 47851, this pair ranks #1,269,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erwähnen vs erwehren
Shared letters: ehnrw. Private to "erwähnen": ä. Private to "erwehren": -.
"erwähnen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erwehren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erwehren ← erewhren · errwehren · erwehern · erwehhren · erwehrenn · erwehrne · erwehrren · erwerhen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erwähnen" for "erwehren" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erwähnen" vs "erwehren" - which ranks higher?
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 "erwähnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,269,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwähnen" and "erwehren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ergehen vs erwehren". 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 #1,269,693 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.