UrlaubvsUrlauberConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,274
“Urlaub” frequency rank
#12,815
“Urlauber” frequency rank
14089
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Urlaub Urlauber
Definition die vom Arbeitgeber dem abhängig Beschäftigten oder Dienstherrn dem Unterstellten gewährte Freizeit in Höhe von einem oder meist mehreren Werktagen jemand, der Urlaub macht; der sich im Urlaub befindet

Where the eye mixes Urlaub and Urlauber

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Urlaub runs 6 letters (VCCVVC) against Urlauber's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Urlaub
8 ch
Urlauber

Look-alike desk: Urlaub vs Urlauber

A purely visual mix-up. Urlaub ([ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯p]) and Urlauber ([ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯bɐ]) 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) - “Urlaub” sits inside “Urlauber”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14089, 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]. Urlauber is at rank #12,815, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯bɐ].

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 14089, this pair ranks #1,953,635 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Urlaub vs Urlauber

Shared letters: ablru. Private to "Urlaub": -. Private to "Urlauber": e.

"Urlaub" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC  ·  "Urlauber" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Urlaub ← rulaub · ulraub · uralub · urlabu · urlaubb · urllaub · urluab · urrlaub
  • Urlauber ← rulauber · ulrauber · uraluber · urlabuer · urlaubber · urlauberr · urlaubre · urlauebr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Urlaub" for "Urlauber" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯p] versus [ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯bɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Urlaub" vs "Urlauber" - which ranks higher?
"Urlaub" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,274 in our German list, against #12,815 for "Urlauber". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Urlaub" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Urlauber" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,953,635 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Urlaub" and "Urlauber" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Urlaube vs Urlauber". 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 #1,953,635 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