abgehaltenvsangehaltenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,502
“abgehalten” frequency rank
#9,503
“angehalten” frequency rank
18005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgehalten angehalten
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs abhalten Partizip Perfekt des Verbs anhalten

Where the eye mixes abgehalten and angehalten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abgehalten and angehalten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
abgehalten
10 ch
angehalten

Visual trap between abgehalten and angehalten

A purely visual mix-up. abgehalten ([ˈapɡəˌhaltn̩]) and angehalten ([ˈanɡəˌhaltn̩]) 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 a single letter - b in “abgehalten” becomes n in “angehalten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abgehalten is recorded at frequency rank #8,502, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌhaltn̩]. angehalten is at rank #9,503, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanɡəˌhaltn̩].

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 18005, this pair ranks #1,922,281 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abgehalten vs angehalten

Shared letters: aeghlnt. Private to "abgehalten": b. Private to "angehalten": -.

"abgehalten" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC  ·  "angehalten" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgehalten ← abbgehalten · abeghalten · abgeahlten · abgehaletn · abgehallten · abgehaltenn · abgehaltne · abgehaltten
  • angehalten ← agnehalten · aneghalten · angeahlten · angehaletn · angehallten · angehaltenn · angehaltne · angehaltten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abgehalten" and "angehalten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapɡəˌhaltn̩] versus [ˈanɡəˌhaltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abgehalten" or "angehalten"?
"abgehalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,502 in our German list, against #9,503 for "angehalten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abgehalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "angehalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,922,281 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgehalten" and "angehalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgehalten vs abgespalten". 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 #1,922,281 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