anhaltenvsAnhaltsWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: anhalten is a verb, Anhalts is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“anhalten” is a verb and “Anhalts” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,139
“anhalten” frequency rank
#37,355
“Anhalts” frequency rank
46494
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anhalten Anhalts
Definition jemanden zu etwas ermahnen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Anhalt

Where the eye mixes anhalten and Anhalts

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. anhalten runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against Anhalts's 7 (VCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
anhalten
7 ch
Anhalts

Why the eye confuses anhalten with Anhalts

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: anhalten is [ˈanˌhaltn̩] while Anhalts is [ˈanˌhalt͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46494, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anhalten is recorded at frequency rank #9,139, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌhaltn̩]. Anhalts is at rank #37,355, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌhalt͡s].

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 46494, this pair ranks #1,317,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of anhalten vs Anhalts

Shared letters: ahlnt. Private to "anhalten": e. Private to "Anhalts": s.

"anhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "Anhalts" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anhalten ← ahnalten · anahlten · anhaletn · anhallten · anhaltenn · anhaltne · anhaltten · anhatlen
  • Anhalts ← ahnalts · anahlts · anhallts · anhalst · anhaltss · anhaltts · anhatls · anhhalts

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "anhalten" and "Anhalts" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "anhalten" is a verb and "Anhalts" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "anhalten" or "Anhalts"?
"anhalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,139 in our German list, against #37,355 for "Anhalts". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "anhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Anhalts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,317,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "anhalten" and "Anhalts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abhält vs Anhalts". 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 #1,317,133 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