Which to use
“erhalten” is a verb and “erhaltene” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #418
- “erhalten” frequency rank
- #10,465
- “erhaltene” frequency rank
- 10883
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erhalten | erhaltene |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas bekommen, empfangen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erhalten |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erhalten and erhaltene apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erhalten is [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩] while erhaltene is [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltənə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “erhalten” sits inside “erhaltene”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10883, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erhalten is recorded at frequency rank #418, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩]. erhaltene is at rank #10,465, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltənə].
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 10883, this pair ranks #1,972,828 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erhalten vs erhaltene
Shared letters: aehlnrt. Private to "erhalten": -. Private to "erhaltene": -.
"erhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erhaltene" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erhalten" and "erhaltene" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erhalten" or "erhaltene"?
Remembering erhalten vs erhaltene
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “erhalten”; for an adjective, it's “erhaltene”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erhalten” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable