Which to use
“Erhaltung” and “Erholung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,039
- “Erhaltung” frequency rank
- #7,461
- “Erholung” frequency rank
- 14500
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Erhaltung | Erholung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sicherung des weiteren Fortbestehens | derjenige Vorgang, bei dem sich ein biologischer Organismus nach einer anstrengenden Tätigkeit, aber auch nach Verletzungen oder Krankheiten durch eine Ruhephase wieder regeneriert und Kräfte sammelt |
Where the eye mixes Erhaltung and Erholung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Erhaltung runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCC) against Erholung's 8 (VCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Erhaltung vs Erholung
A purely visual mix-up. Erhaltung ([ɛɐ̯ˈhaltʊŋ]) and Erholung ([ɛɐ̯ˈhoːlʊŋ]) 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 14500, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Erhaltung is recorded at frequency rank #7,039, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhaltʊŋ]. Erholung is at rank #7,461, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhoːlʊŋ].
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 14500, this pair ranks #1,950,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Erhaltung vs Erholung
Shared letters: eghlnru. Private to "Erhaltung": at. Private to "Erholung": o.
"Erhaltung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC · "Erholung" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Erhaltung" and "Erholung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Erhaltung" or "Erholung" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Erhaltung" and "Erholung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Erhaltung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erholung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,950,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Erhaltung" and "Erholung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Enthaltung vs Erhaltung". 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 #1,950,776 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.