AnhaltvsAsphaltWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Anhalt” and “Asphalt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,637
“Anhalt” frequency rank
#14,006
“Asphalt” frequency rank
17643
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Anhalt Asphalt
Definition begründende Erklärung, Bezug eine natürliche oder technisch hergestellte Mischung aus Bitumen und Mineralstoffen, die im Straßenbau verwendet wird

Where the eye mixes Anhalt and Asphalt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Anhalt runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against Asphalt's 7 (VCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Anhalt
7 ch
Asphalt

Why the eye confuses Anhalt with Asphalt

A purely visual mix-up. Anhalt ([ˈanˌhalt]) and Asphalt ([asˈfalt]) 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 17643, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Anhalt is recorded at frequency rank #3,637, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌhalt]. Asphalt is at rank #14,006, tagged as anoun, pronounced [asˈfalt].

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 17643, this pair ranks #1,925,578 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Anhalt vs Asphalt

Shared letters: ahlt. Private to "Anhalt": n. Private to "Asphalt": ps.

"Anhalt" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "Asphalt" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Anhalt ← ahnalt · anahlt · anhallt · anhaltt · anhatl · anhhalt · anhlat · annhalt
  • Asphalt ← apshalt · ashpalt · aspahlt · asphallt · asphaltt · asphatl · asphhalt · asphlat

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Anhalt" for "Asphalt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌhalt] versus [asˈfalt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Anhalt" or "Asphalt" show up more?
"Anhalt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,637 in our German list, against #14,006 for "Asphalt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Anhalt" and "Asphalt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Anhalt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Asphalt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,925,578 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Anhalt" and "Asphalt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anale vs Anhalt". 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 #1,925,578 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list