Which to use
“erwehren” and “erweisen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,154
- “erwehren” frequency rank
- #10,272
- “erweisen” frequency rank
- 53426
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwehren | erweisen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich gegen jemanden oder etwas zur Wehr setzen, gegenan kämpfen | einen Nachweis erbringen |
Where the eye mixes erwehren and erweisen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: erwehren vs erweisen
A purely visual mix-up. erwehren ([ɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən]) and erweisen ([ɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯zn̩]) 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 53426, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erwehren is recorded at frequency rank #43,154, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən]. erweisen is at rank #10,272, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯zn̩].
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 53426, this pair ranks #1,058,493 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erwehren vs erweisen
Shared letters: enrw. Private to "erwehren": h. Private to "erweisen": is.
"erwehren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erweisen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erwehren" for "erweisen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erwehren" vs "erweisen" - 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 "erwehren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erweisen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,058,493 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwehren" and "erweisen" 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 #1,058,493 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.