Which to use
“erhalte” and “erwarte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,268
- “erhalte” frequency rank
- #4,981
- “erwarte” frequency rank
- 15249
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erhalte | erwarte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erhalten | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erwarten |
Where the eye mixes erhalte and erwarte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erhalte and erwarte follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses erhalte with erwarte
A purely visual mix-up. erhalte ([ɛɐ̯ˈhaltə]) and erwarte ([ɛɐ̯ˈvaʁtə]) 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 15249, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erhalte is recorded at frequency rank #10,268, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltə]. erwarte is at rank #4,981, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaʁtə].
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 15249, this pair ranks #1,945,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erhalte vs erwarte
Shared letters: aert. Private to "erhalte": hl. Private to "erwarte": w.
"erhalte" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "erwarte" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erhalte" for "erwarte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erhalte" or "erwarte"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erhalte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwarte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,945,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erhalte" and "erwarte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erhalte vs erhärtet". 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 #1,945,306 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.