Which to use
“erwerben” and “erworben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,941
- “erwerben” frequency rank
- #4,428
- “erworben” frequency rank
- 10369
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erwerben | erworben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas durch eigene Arbeit verdienen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erwerben |
Where the eye mixes erwerben and erworben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erwerben and erworben 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 erwerben with erworben
A purely visual mix-up. erwerben ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɛʁbn̩]) and erworben ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɔʁbn̩]) 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 a single letter - e in “erwerben” becomes o in “erworben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erwerben is recorded at frequency rank #5,941, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛʁbn̩]. erworben is at rank #4,428, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɔʁbn̩].
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 10369, this pair ranks #1,975,483 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erwerben vs erworben
Shared letters: benrw. Private to "erwerben": -. Private to "erworben": o.
"erwerben" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erworben" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erwerben" and "erworben" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erwerben" or "erworben"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erwerben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erworben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,975,483 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erwerben" and "erworben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwerben vs Erwerbs". 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 #1,975,483 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.