Which to use
“Erkältung” and “Erwartung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,699
- “Erkältung” frequency rank
- #10,648
- “Erwartung” frequency rank
- 23347
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Erkältung | Erwartung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Erkrankung, Infektion der Atemwege (zum Beispiel Husten, Schnupfen, Heiserkeit, Katarrh) | Zustand der Spannung, des Wartens, der Ungeduld |
Where the eye mixes Erkältung and Erwartung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Erkältung and Erwartung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: Erkältung vs Erwartung
A purely visual mix-up. Erkältung ([ɛɐ̯ˈkɛltʊŋ]) and Erwartung ([ɛɐ̯ˈvaʁtʊŋ]) 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 23347, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Erkältung is recorded at frequency rank #12,699, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛltʊŋ]. Erwartung is at rank #10,648, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvaʁtʊŋ].
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 23347, this pair ranks #1,862,454 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Erkältung vs Erwartung
Shared letters: egnrtu. Private to "Erkältung": klä. Private to "Erwartung": aw.
"Erkältung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC · "Erwartung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Erwartung ← erawrtung · errwartung · erwarrtung · erwartnug · erwarttung · erwartugn · erwartungg · erwartunng
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Erkältung" and "Erwartung" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Erkältung" or "Erwartung" show up more?
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 "Erkältung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erwartung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,862,454 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Erkältung" and "Erwartung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erkältung vs Erkältungen". 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 #1,862,454 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.