Which to use
“abhalten” and “abschalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,672
- “abhalten” frequency rank
- #8,980
- “abschalten” frequency rank
- 17652
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abhalten | abschalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden an etwas hindern, von etwas fernhalten | ein Gerät oder eine Anlage außer Betrieb setzen, stromlos machen |
Where the eye mixes abhalten and abschalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abhalten runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against abschalten's 10 (VCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abhalten with abschalten
A purely visual mix-up. abhalten ([ˈapˌhaltn̩]) and abschalten ([ˈapˌʃaltn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17652, 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]. abschalten is at rank #8,980, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃaltn̩].
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 17652, this pair ranks #1,925,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abhalten vs abschalten
Shared letters: abehlnt. Private to "abhalten": -. Private to "abschalten": cs.
"abhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "abschalten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abhalten ← abahlten · abbhalten · abhaletn · abhallten · abhaltenn · abhaltne · abhaltten · abhatlen
- abschalten ← abbschalten · abcshalten · abscahlten · abscchalten · abschaletn · abschallten · abschaltenn · abschaltne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abhalten" for "abschalten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "abhalten" vs "abschalten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "abschalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,925,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abhalten" and "abschalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abschalten vs anschalten". 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 #1,925,489 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.