erhältlichvserhältlichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,956
“erhältlich” frequency rank
#46,618
“erhältlichen” frequency rank
50574
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erhältlich erhältlichen
Definition so, dass es (meist käuflich) zu erhalten, zu bekommen ist Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erhältlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erhältlich and erhältlichen apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
erhältlich
12 ch
erhältlichen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erhältlich ([ɛɐ̯ˈhɛltlɪç]) and erhältlichen ([ɛɐ̯ˈhɛltlɪçn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “erhältlich” sits inside “erhältlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50574, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erhältlich is recorded at frequency rank #3,956, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhɛltlɪç]. erhältlichen is at rank #46,618, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhɛltlɪçn̩].

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 50574, this pair ranks #1,168,484 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erhältlich vs erhältlichen

Shared letters: cehilrtä. Private to "erhältlich": -. Private to "erhältlichen": n.

"erhältlich" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCC  ·  "erhältlichen" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

erhältlich#3,956
erhältlichen#46,618

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erhältlich" and "erhältlichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈhɛltlɪç] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈhɛltlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erhältlich" or "erhältlichen"?
"erhältlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,956 in our German list, against #46,618 for "erhältlichen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering erhältlich vs erhältlichen

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 “erhältlich” 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