enthaltenvsentlastenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,658
“enthalten” frequency rank
#12,897
“entlasten” frequency rank
14555
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enthalten entlasten
Definition so beschaffen sein, dass das eine (mit dem stets nötigen Akkusativ-Objekt Bezeichnete) ein Teil des anderen (des mit dem Subjekt Bezeichneten) ist; einen Inhalt haben; bestehen aus von einer Beschwernis befreien

Where the eye mixes enthalten and entlasten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. enthalten and entlasten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
enthalten
9 ch
entlasten

Visual trap between enthalten and entlasten

A purely visual mix-up. enthalten ([ɛntˈhaltn̩]) and entlasten ([ɛntˈlastn̩]) 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 14555, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enthalten is recorded at frequency rank #1,658, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈhaltn̩]. entlasten is at rank #12,897, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈlastn̩].

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 14555, this pair ranks #1,950,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of enthalten vs entlasten

Shared letters: aelnt. Private to "enthalten": h. Private to "entlasten": s.

"enthalten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "entlasten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enthalten ← enhtalten · ennthalten · entahlten · enthaletn · enthallten · enthaltenn · enthaltne · enthaltten
  • entlasten ← enltasten · enntlasten · entalsten · entlasetn · entlassten · entlastenn · entlastne · entlastten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "enthalten" and "entlasten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈhaltn̩] versus [ɛntˈlastn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "enthalten" or "entlasten"?
"enthalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,658 in our German list, against #12,897 for "entlasten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "enthalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entlasten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,950,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "enthalten" and "entlasten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entlarven vs entlasten". 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 #1,950,377 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