erhebtvserhieltConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,416
“erhebt” frequency rank
#1,766
“erhielt” frequency rank
8182
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erhebt erhielt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erheben 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erhalten

Where the eye mixes erhebt and erhielt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erhebt runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against erhielt's 7 (VCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
erhebt
7 ch
erhielt

Visual trap between erhebt and erhielt

A purely visual mix-up. erhebt ([ɛɐ̯ˈheːpt]) and erhielt ([ɛɐ̯ˈhiːlt]) 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 8182, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erhebt is recorded at frequency rank #6,416, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈheːpt]. erhielt is at rank #1,766, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhiːlt].

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 8182, this pair ranks #1,985,301 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erhebt vs erhielt

Shared letters: ehrt. Private to "erhebt": b. Private to "erhielt": il.

"erhebt" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "erhielt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erhebt ← ehrebt · erehbt · erhbet · erhebbt · erhebtt · erhetb · erhhebt · errhebt
  • erhielt ← ehrielt · erheilt · erhhielt · erhiellt · erhieltt · erhietl · erhilet · erihelt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erhebt" and "erhielt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈheːpt] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈhiːlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "erhebt" or "erhielt" show up more?
"erhielt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,766 in our German list, against #6,416 for "erhebt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erhebt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erhielt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,985,301 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erhebt" and "erhielt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erhielt vs erliegt". 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 #1,985,301 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list