Which to use
“abfallen” and “abhalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,766
- “abfallen” frequency rank
- #8,672
- “abhalten” frequency rank
- 45438
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abfallen | abhalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich von etwas lösen und herunterfallen | jemanden an etwas hindern, von etwas fernhalten |
Where the eye mixes abfallen and abhalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abfallen and abhalten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: abfallen vs abhalten
A purely visual mix-up. abfallen ([ˈapˌfalən]) and abhalten ([ˈapˌhaltn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45438, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abfallen is recorded at frequency rank #36,766, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌfalən]. abhalten is at rank #8,672, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌhaltn̩].
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 45438, this pair ranks #1,353,021 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abfallen vs abhalten
Shared letters: abeln. Private to "abfallen": f. Private to "abhalten": ht.
"abfallen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "abhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abfallen" and "abhalten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "abfallen" or "abhalten" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abfallen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abhalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,353,021 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abfallen" and "abhalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abfallen vs abfällig". 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 #1,353,021 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.