erhaltenvserhältstWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#418
“erhalten” frequency rank
#31,029
“erhältst” frequency rank
31447
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erhalten erhältst
Definition etwas bekommen, empfangen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erhalten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erhalten and erhältst apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
erhalten
8 ch
erhältst

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erhalten ([ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩]) and erhältst ([ɛɐ̯ˈhɛlt͡st]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erhalten is recorded at frequency rank #418, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩]. erhältst is at rank #31,029, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhɛlt͡st].

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 31447, this pair ranks #1,727,880 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erhalten vs erhältst

Shared letters: ehlrt. Private to "erhalten": an. Private to "erhältst": .

"erhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "erhältst" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erhaltenehralten · erahlten · erhaletn · erhallten · erhaltenn · erhaltne · erhaltten · erhatlen

Frequency comparison

erhalten#418
erhältst#31,029

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erhalten" and "erhältst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈhɛlt͡st]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erhalten" or "erhältst"?
"erhalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #418 in our German list, against #31,029 for "erhältst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering erhalten vs erhältst

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list