erhöhen vs ertönen, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#2,954
“erhöhen” frequency rank: #40,516
“ertönen” frequency rank: 43470
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	erhöhen	ertönen
Definition	etwas anheben, steigen lassen, größer machen	als Ton, Klang wahrnehmbar werden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erhöhen and ertönen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

erhöhen

7 ch

ertönen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erhöhen ([ɛɐ̯ˈhøːən]) and ertönen ([ɛɐ̯ˈtøːnən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43470, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erhöhen is recorded at frequency rank #2,954, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhøːən]. ertönen is at rank #40,516, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈtøːnən].

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 43470, this pair ranks #1,417,044 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erhöhen vs ertönen

Shared letters: enrö. Private to "erhöhen": h. Private to "ertönen": t.

"erhöhen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "ertönen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

erhöhen#2,954

ertönen#40,516

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erhöhen" and "ertönen" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈhøːən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈtøːnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "erhöhen" or "ertönen"?

"erhöhen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,954 in our German list, against #40,516 for "ertönen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering erhöhen vs ertönen

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 “erhöhen” entry
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