Which to use
“abhalten” and “anhalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,672
- “abhalten” frequency rank
- #9,139
- “anhalten” frequency rank
- 17811
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abhalten | anhalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden an etwas hindern, von etwas fernhalten | jemanden zu etwas ermahnen |
Where the eye mixes abhalten and anhalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: abhalten vs anhalten
A purely visual mix-up. abhalten ([ˈapˌhaltn̩]) and anhalten ([ˈanˌhaltn̩]) 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 “abhalten” becomes n in “anhalten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17811, 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]. anhalten is at rank #9,139, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌhaltn̩].
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 17811, this pair ranks #1,924,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abhalten vs anhalten
Shared letters: aehlnt. Private to "abhalten": b. Private to "anhalten": -.
"abhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "anhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abhalten" for "anhalten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "abhalten" vs "anhalten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "anhalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,924,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abhalten" and "anhalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anhalten 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 #1,924,042 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.