Which to use
“erhalten” and “erkältet” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #418
- “erhalten” frequency rank
- #28,637
- “erkältet” frequency rank
- 29055
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erhalten | erkältet |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas bekommen, empfangen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erkälten |
Where the eye mixes erhalten and erkältet
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erhalten and erkältet follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erhalten vs erkältet
A purely visual mix-up. erhalten ([ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩]) and erkältet ([ɛɐ̯ˈkɛltət]) 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 29055, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erhalten is recorded at frequency rank #418, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltn̩]. erkältet is at rank #28,637, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛltət].
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 29055, this pair ranks #1,773,878 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erhalten vs erkältet
Shared letters: elrt. Private to "erhalten": ahn. Private to "erkältet": kä.
"erhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erkältet" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erhalten ← ehralten · erahlten · erhaletn · erhallten · erhaltenn · erhaltne · erhaltten · erhatlen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erhalten" for "erkältet" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erhalten" or "erkältet"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "erhalten" and "erkältet" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erkältet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,773,878 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erhalten" and "erkältet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erhärtet vs erkältet". 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 #1,773,878 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.