erhältvserwähltTell them apart

Quick tell: erhält is a verb, erwählt is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“erhält” is a verb and “erwählt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,548
“erhält” frequency rank
#26,395
“erwählt” frequency rank
27943
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erhält erwählt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erhalten für eine bestimmte Aufgabe ausgesucht, bevorzugt

Where the eye mixes erhält and erwählt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erhält runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against erwählt's 7 (VCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
erhält
7 ch
erwählt

Visual trap between erhält and erwählt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erhält is [ɛɐ̯ˈhɛlt] while erwählt is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27943, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erhält is recorded at frequency rank #1,548, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhɛlt]. erwählt is at rank #26,395, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːlt].

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 27943, this pair ranks #1,793,235 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erhält vs erwählt

Shared letters: ehlrtä. Private to "erhält": -. Private to "erwählt": w.

"erhält" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "erwählt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erhält" and "erwählt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erhält" is a verb and "erwählt" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "erhält" vs "erwählt" - which ranks higher?
"erhält" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,548 in our German list, against #26,395 for "erwählt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "erhält" and "erwählt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erhält" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erwählt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,793,235 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erhält" and "erwählt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwählt vs erwähnst". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,793,235 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