Which to use
“erfolgen” and “erholen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,589
- “erfolgen” frequency rank
- #10,466
- “erholen” frequency rank
- 13055
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfolgen | erholen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | stattfinden, sich ereignen, getan werden (der Inhalt des Tuns steckt im Subjekt des Satzes) | sich entspannen |
Where the eye mixes erfolgen and erholen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erfolgen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against erholen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erfolgen with erholen
A purely visual mix-up. erfolgen ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡn̩]) and erholen ([ɛɐ̯ˈhoːlən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13055, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfolgen is recorded at frequency rank #2,589, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡn̩]. erholen is at rank #10,466, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhoːlən].
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 13055, this pair ranks #1,960,396 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfolgen vs erholen
Shared letters: elnor. Private to "erfolgen": fg. Private to "erholen": h.
"erfolgen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erholen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erfolgen" and "erholen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "erfolgen" or "erholen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfolgen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erholen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,960,396 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfolgen" and "erholen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erhellen vs erholen". 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 #1,960,396 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.