Which to use
“Urlaube” and “Urlauber” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,093
- “Urlaube” frequency rank
- #12,815
- “Urlauber” frequency rank
- 51908
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Urlaube | Urlauber |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Urlaub | jemand, der Urlaub macht; der sich im Urlaub befindet |
Where the eye mixes Urlaube and Urlauber
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Urlaube runs 7 letters (VCCVVCV) against Urlauber's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Urlaube vs Urlauber
A purely visual mix-up. Urlaube ([ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯bə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Urlaube” sits inside “Urlauber”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51908, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Urlaube is recorded at frequency rank #39,093, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯bə]. 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 51908, this pair ranks #1,117,418 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Urlaube vs Urlauber
Shared letters: abelru. Private to "Urlaube": -. Private to "Urlauber": -.
"Urlaube" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV · "Urlauber" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Urlaube" and "Urlauber" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Urlaube" or "Urlauber" show up more?
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 "Urlaube" 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 #1,117,418 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Urlaube" and "Urlauber" 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 #1,117,418 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.