Which to use
“erholen” and “ertönen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,466
- “erholen” frequency rank
- #40,516
- “ertönen” frequency rank
- 50982
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erholen | ertönen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich entspannen | als Ton, Klang wahrnehmbar werden |
Where the eye mixes erholen and ertönen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. erholen and ertönen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses erholen with ertönen
A purely visual mix-up. erholen ([ɛɐ̯ˈhoːlən]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50982, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erholen is recorded at frequency rank #10,466, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhoːlən]. 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 50982, this pair ranks #1,152,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erholen vs ertönen
Shared letters: enr. Private to "erholen": hlo. Private to "ertönen": tö.
"erholen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "ertönen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erholen ← ehrolen · erhholen · erhloen · erhoeln · erholenn · erhollen · erholne · erohlen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erholen" and "ertönen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erholen" vs "ertönen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erholen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ertönen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,152,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erholen" and "ertönen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ertönen vs ertönte". 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 #1,152,995 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.