Which to use
“erhalten” is a verb and “Erhaltung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #418
- “erhalten” frequency rank
- #7,039
- “Erhaltung” frequency rank
- 7457
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erhalten | Erhaltung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas bekommen, empfangen | Sicherung des weiteren Fortbestehens |
Where the eye mixes erhalten and Erhaltung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erhalten runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against Erhaltung's 9 (VCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erhalten with Erhaltung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erhalten is [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩] while Erhaltung is [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltʊŋ]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7457, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erhalten is recorded at frequency rank #418, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩]. Erhaltung is at rank #7,039, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltʊŋ].
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 7457, this pair ranks #1,988,090 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erhalten vs Erhaltung
Shared letters: aehlnrt. Private to "erhalten": -. Private to "Erhaltung": gu.
"erhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "Erhaltung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erhalten" for "Erhaltung" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erhalten" or "Erhaltung" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erhaltung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,988,090 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erhalten" and "Erhaltung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erhalten 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 #1,988,090 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.