Which to use
“angehalten” and “anschalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,503
- “angehalten” frequency rank
- #42,336
- “anschalten” frequency rank
- 51839
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | angehalten | anschalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs anhalten | durch einen Schalter aktivieren; mit einem Schalter anmachen |
Where the eye mixes angehalten and anschalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. angehalten (VCCVCVCCVC) and anschalten (VCCCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between angehalten and anschalten
A purely visual mix-up. angehalten ([ˈanɡəˌhaltn̩]) and anschalten ([ˈanˌʃaltn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51839, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
angehalten is recorded at frequency rank #9,503, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanɡəˌhaltn̩]. anschalten is at rank #42,336, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃaltn̩].
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 51839, this pair ranks #1,120,021 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of angehalten vs anschalten
Shared letters: aehlnt. Private to "angehalten": g. Private to "anschalten": cs.
"angehalten" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC · "anschalten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- angehalten ← agnehalten · aneghalten · angeahlten · angehaletn · angehallten · angehaltenn · angehaltne · angehaltten
- anschalten ← ancshalten · annschalten · anscahlten · anscchalten · anschaletn · anschallten · anschaltenn · anschaltne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "angehalten" for "anschalten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "angehalten" or "anschalten" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "angehalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anschalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,120,021 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "angehalten" and "anschalten" 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 #1,120,021 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.