Which to use
“abhalten” and “abraten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,672
- “abhalten” frequency rank
- #41,622
- “abraten” frequency rank
- 50294
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abhalten | abraten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden an etwas hindern, von etwas fernhalten | jemandem raten, etwas nicht zu tun |
Where the eye mixes abhalten and abraten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abhalten runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against abraten'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 abraten
A purely visual mix-up. abhalten ([ˈapˌhaltn̩]) and abraten ([ˈapˌʁaːtn̩]) 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 50294, 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]. abraten is at rank #41,622, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʁaːtn̩].
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 50294, this pair ranks #1,179,144 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abhalten vs abraten
Shared letters: abent. Private to "abhalten": hl. Private to "abraten": r.
"abhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "abraten" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abhalten" and "abraten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "abhalten" or "abraten" 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 "abhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abraten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,179,144 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abhalten" and "abraten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abraten vs abtragen". 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 #1,179,144 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.