Which to use
“erhielt” and “erspielt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,766
- “erhielt” frequency rank
- #47,363
- “erspielt” frequency rank
- 49129
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erhielt | erspielt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erhalten | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erspielen |
Where the eye mixes erhielt and erspielt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erhielt runs 7 letters (VCCVVCC) against erspielt's 8 (VCCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erhielt and erspielt
A purely visual mix-up. erhielt ([ɛɐ̯ˈhiːlt]) and erspielt ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃpiːlt]) 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 49129, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erhielt is recorded at frequency rank #1,766, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhiːlt]. erspielt is at rank #47,363, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃpiːlt].
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 49129, this pair ranks #1,223,072 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erhielt vs erspielt
Shared letters: eilrt. Private to "erhielt": h. Private to "erspielt": ps.
"erhielt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCC · "erspielt" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erhielt" for "erspielt" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erhielt" or "erspielt"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erhielt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erspielt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,223,072 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erhielt" and "erspielt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erspielt vs erzielt". 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 #1,223,072 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.