Which to use
“abhalten” and “aufhalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,672
- “abhalten” frequency rank
- #5,679
- “aufhalten” frequency rank
- 14351
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abhalten | aufhalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden an etwas hindern, von etwas fernhalten | jemanden/etwas nicht weitergehen/weiterfortschreiten lassen |
Where the eye mixes abhalten and aufhalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abhalten runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against aufhalten's 9 (VVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abhalten with aufhalten
A purely visual mix-up. abhalten ([ˈapˌhaltn̩]) and aufhalten ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhaltn̩]) 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 14351, 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]. aufhalten is at rank #5,679, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌhaltn̩].
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 14351, this pair ranks #1,951,806 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abhalten vs aufhalten
Shared letters: aehlnt. Private to "abhalten": b. Private to "aufhalten": fu.
"abhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "aufhalten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abhalten" for "aufhalten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "abhalten" or "aufhalten" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "abhalten" and "aufhalten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufhalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,951,806 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abhalten" and "aufhalten" 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 #1,951,806 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.