Which to use
“erhalten” and “erhärtet” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #418
- “erhalten” frequency rank
- #48,855
- “erhärtet” frequency rank
- 49273
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erhalten | erhärtet |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas bekommen, empfangen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erhärten |
Where the eye mixes erhalten and erhärtet
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erhalten and erhärtet follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses erhalten with erhärtet
A purely visual mix-up. erhalten ([ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩]) and erhärtet ([ɛɐ̯ˈhɛʁtət]) 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 49273, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erhalten is recorded at frequency rank #418, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩]. erhärtet is at rank #48,855, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhɛʁtət].
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 49273, this pair ranks #1,217,615 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erhalten vs erhärtet
Shared letters: ehrt. Private to "erhalten": aln. Private to "erhärtet": ä.
"erhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erhärtet" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erhalten ← ehralten · erahlten · erhaletn · erhallten · erhaltenn · erhaltne · erhaltten · erhatlen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erhalten" and "erhärtet" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erhalten" vs "erhärtet" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "erhärtet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,217,615 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erhalten" and "erhärtet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erhaltet 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 #1,217,615 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.