erhörtvserlöstWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,748
“erhört” frequency rank
#21,590
“erlöst” frequency rank
57338
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erhört erlöst
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erhören Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erlösen

Where the eye mixes erhört and erlöst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
erhört
6 ch
erlöst

Why the eye confuses erhört with erlöst

A purely visual mix-up. erhört ([ɛɐ̯ˈhøːɐ̯t]) and erlöst ([ɛɐ̯ˈløːst]) 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 57338, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erhört is recorded at frequency rank #35,748, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhøːɐ̯t]. erlöst is at rank #21,590, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈløːst].

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 57338, this pair ranks #905,124 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erhört vs erlöst

Shared letters: ertö. Private to "erhört": h. Private to "erlöst": ls.

"erhört" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "erlöst" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erhört" and "erlöst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈhøːɐ̯t] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈløːst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erhört" or "erlöst"?
"erlöst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,590 in our German list, against #35,748 for "erhört". 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 "erhört" and "erlöst" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erhört" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erlöst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #905,124 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erhört" and "erlöst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erbost vs erhört". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #905,124 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