Which to use
“Urlaub” and “Urlaube” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,274
- “Urlaub” frequency rank
- #39,093
- “Urlaube” frequency rank
- 40367
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Urlaub | Urlaube |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die vom Arbeitgeber dem abhängig Beschäftigten oder Dienstherrn dem Unterstellten gewährte Freizeit in Höhe von einem oder meist mehreren Werktagen | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Urlaub |
Where the eye mixes Urlaub and Urlaube
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Urlaub runs 6 letters (VCCVVC) against Urlaube's 7 (VCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Urlaub and Urlaube
A purely visual mix-up. Urlaub ([ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯p]) and Urlaube ([ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯bə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Urlaub” sits inside “Urlaube”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40367, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Urlaub is recorded at frequency rank #1,274, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯p]. Urlaube is at rank #39,093, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯bə].
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 40367, this pair ranks #1,510,537 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Urlaub vs Urlaube
Shared letters: ablru. Private to "Urlaub": -. Private to "Urlaube": e.
"Urlaub" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC · "Urlaube" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Urlaub" and "Urlaube" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Urlaub" vs "Urlaube" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Urlaub" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Urlaube" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,510,537 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Urlaub" and "Urlaube" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Urlaube vs Urlaubs". 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 #1,510,537 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.