Which to use
“abhalten” and “aushalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,672
- “abhalten” frequency rank
- #8,170
- “aushalten” frequency rank
- 16842
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abhalten | aushalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden an etwas hindern, von etwas fernhalten | eine unangenehme Situation ertragen oder ertragen können |
Where the eye mixes abhalten and aushalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abhalten runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against aushalten's 9 (VVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abhalten vs aushalten
A purely visual mix-up. abhalten ([ˈapˌhaltn̩]) and aushalten ([ˈaʊ̯sˌhaltn̩]) 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 16842, 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]. aushalten is at rank #8,170, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌhaltn̩].
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 16842, this pair ranks #1,932,568 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abhalten vs aushalten
Shared letters: aehlnt. Private to "abhalten": b. Private to "aushalten": su.
"abhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "aushalten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abhalten" for "aushalten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "abhalten" vs "aushalten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "aushalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,932,568 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abhalten" and "aushalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anschalten vs aushalten". 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 #1,932,568 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.