ErlösvsErlöserWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#17,874
“Erlös” frequency rank
#24,325
“Erlöser” frequency rank
42199
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Erlös Erlöser
Definition Geld aus dem Verkauf von etwas (männliche^☆) Person, die jemanden von etwas befreit/erlöst

Where the eye mixes Erlös and Erlöser

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Erlös runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against Erlöser's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Erlös
7 ch
Erlöser

Why the eye confuses Erlös with Erlöser

A purely visual mix-up. Erlös ([ɛɐ̯ˈløːs]) and Erlöser ([ɛɐ̯ˈløːzɐ]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Erlös” sits inside “Erlöser”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42199, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Erlös is recorded at frequency rank #17,874, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈløːs]. Erlöser is at rank #24,325, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈløːzɐ].

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 42199, this pair ranks #1,456,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Erlös vs Erlöser

Shared letters: elrsö. Private to "Erlös": -. Private to "Erlöser": -.

"Erlös" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "Erlöser" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Erlös" for "Erlöser" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈløːs] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈløːzɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Erlös" vs "Erlöser" - which ranks higher?
"Erlös" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,874 in our German list, against #24,325 for "Erlöser". 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 "Erlös" and "Erlöser" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Erlös" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Erlöser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,456,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Erlös" and "Erlöser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erle vs Erlös". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,456,618 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