erhobenvserhoffenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,243
“erhoben” frequency rank
#22,704
“erhoffen” frequency rank
25947
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erhoben erhoffen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erheben etwas zuversichtlich erwarten (meistens ein Ereignis), auf dessen Kommen vertrauen

Where the eye mixes erhoben and erhoffen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erhoben runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against erhoffen's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
erhoben
8 ch
erhoffen

Look-alike desk: erhoben vs erhoffen

A purely visual mix-up. erhoben ([ɛɐ̯ˈhoːbn̩]) and erhoffen ([ɛɐ̯ˈhɔfn̩]) 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 25947, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erhoben is recorded at frequency rank #3,243, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhoːbn̩]. erhoffen is at rank #22,704, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhɔfn̩].

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 25947, this pair ranks #1,825,593 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erhoben vs erhoffen

Shared letters: ehnor. Private to "erhoben": b. Private to "erhoffen": f.

"erhoben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "erhoffen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erhoben ← ehroben · erhboen · erhhoben · erhobben · erhobenn · erhobne · erhoebn · erohben
  • erhoffen ← ehroffen · erhfofen · erhhoffen · erhofefn · erhofen · erhoffenn · erhoffne · erohffen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "erhoben" for "erhoffen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈhoːbn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈhɔfn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erhoben" vs "erhoffen" - which ranks higher?
"erhoben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,243 in our German list, against #22,704 for "erhoffen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "erhoben" and "erhoffen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erhoben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erhoffen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,825,593 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erhoben" and "erhoffen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erhoffen vs erhofften". 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 #1,825,593 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