Which to use
“abhalten” and “abholen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,672
- “abhalten” frequency rank
- #5,792
- “abholen” frequency rank
- 14464
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abhalten | abholen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden an etwas hindern, von etwas fernhalten | von einem Ort nehmen, um es (mit sich) an einen anderen zu bringen |
Where the eye mixes abhalten and abholen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abhalten runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against abholen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abhalten with abholen
A purely visual mix-up. abhalten ([ˈapˌhaltn̩]) and abholen ([ˈapˌhoːlən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14464, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abhalten is recorded at frequency rank #8,672, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌhaltn̩]. abholen is at rank #5,792, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌhoːlən].
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 14464, this pair ranks #1,951,044 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abhalten vs abholen
Shared letters: abehln. Private to "abhalten": t. Private to "abholen": o.
"abhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "abholen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abhalten" and "abholen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "abhalten" or "abholen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abholen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,951,044 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abhalten" and "abholen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abhalten vs abraten". 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 #1,951,044 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.