Which to use
“abzuhalten” and “anzuhalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,484
- “abzuhalten” frequency rank
- #26,302
- “anzuhalten” frequency rank
- 40786
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abzuhalten | anzuhalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abhalten | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs anhalten |
Where the eye mixes abzuhalten and anzuhalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abzuhalten and anzuhalten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between abzuhalten and anzuhalten
A purely visual mix-up. abzuhalten ([ˈapt͡suˌhaltn̩]) and anzuhalten ([ˈant͡suˌhaltn̩]) 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 “abzuhalten” becomes n in “anzuhalten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40786, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abzuhalten is recorded at frequency rank #14,484, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌhaltn̩]. anzuhalten is at rank #26,302, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈant͡suˌhaltn̩].
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 40786, this pair ranks #1,498,323 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abzuhalten vs anzuhalten
Shared letters: aehlntuz. Private to "abzuhalten": b. Private to "anzuhalten": -.
"abzuhalten" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC · "anzuhalten" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abzuhalten ← abbzuhalten · abuzhalten · abzhualten · abzuahlten · abzuhaletn · abzuhallten · abzuhaltenn · abzuhaltne
- anzuhalten ← annzuhalten · anuzhalten · anzhualten · anzuahlten · anzuhaletn · anzuhallten · anzuhaltenn · anzuhaltne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abzuhalten" and "anzuhalten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "abzuhalten" or "anzuhalten"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abzuhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anzuhalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,498,323 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abzuhalten" and "anzuhalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anschalten vs anzuhalten". 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 #1,498,323 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.