Urlaub
[ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯p]
The verdict
“Urlaub” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #1,274 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,274
- frequency rank, German
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - die vom Arbeitgeber dem abhängig Beschäftigten oder Dienstherrn dem Unterstellten gewährte Freizeit in Höhe von einem oder meist mehreren Werktagen
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Urlaub |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯p] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #1,274 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Urlaub” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Urlaub is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯p]. Corpus data places it at rank #1,274 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Urlaub, with forms such as "rulaub", "ulraub", and "uralub". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "Urlaubs", "Urlaube", "Urlauber", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Urlaub, spelled U-R-L-A-U-B.
Definition
- 1die vom Arbeitgeber dem abhängig Beschäftigten oder Dienstherrn dem Unterstellten gewährte Freizeit in Höhe von einem oder meist mehreren Werktagen
- 2die vom Arbeitgeber dem abhängig Beschäftigten oder Dienstherrn dem Unterstellten gewährte Freizeit in Höhe von einem oder meist mehreren Werktagen
- 3die vom Arbeitgeber dem abhängig Beschäftigten oder Dienstherrn dem Unterstellten gewährte Freizeit in Höhe von einem oder meist mehreren Werktagen
- 4eine während des Urlaubs^([1]) unternommene Reise
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: rulaub,ulraub,uralub,urlabu,urlaubb,urllaub,urluab,urrlaub
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Urlaub - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "Urlaub"?
What does "Urlaub" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Urlaub"?
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Using “Urlaub”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is U-R-L-A-U-B - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯p] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Urlaubs” - see the side-by-side comparison. Urlaub vs Urlaubs
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.