Which to use
“erhalten” and “erhielten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #418
- “erhalten” frequency rank
- #3,955
- “erhielten” frequency rank
- 4373
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erhalten | erhielten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas bekommen, empfangen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erhalten |
Where the eye mixes erhalten and erhielten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erhalten runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against erhielten's 9 (VCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erhalten with erhielten
A purely visual mix-up. erhalten ([ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩]) and erhielten ([ɛɐ̯ˈhiːltn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erhalten is recorded at frequency rank #418, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩]. erhielten is at rank #3,955, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhiːltn̩].
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 4373, this pair ranks #1,997,881 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erhalten vs erhielten
Shared letters: ehlnrt. Private to "erhalten": a. Private to "erhielten": i.
"erhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erhielten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erhalten" for "erhielten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erhalten" vs "erhielten" - which ranks higher?
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 "erhielten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,997,881 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erhalten" and "erhielten" 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 #1,997,881 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.