Which to use
“anhalten” and “aufhalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,139
- “anhalten” frequency rank
- #5,679
- “aufhalten” frequency rank
- 14818
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | anhalten | aufhalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden zu etwas ermahnen | jemanden/etwas nicht weitergehen/weiterfortschreiten lassen |
Where the eye mixes anhalten and aufhalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. anhalten runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against aufhalten's 9 (VVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between anhalten and aufhalten
A purely visual mix-up. anhalten ([ˈanˌhaltn̩]) and aufhalten ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhaltn̩]) 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 14818, 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]. aufhalten is at rank #5,679, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌhaltn̩].
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 14818, this pair ranks #1,948,493 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of anhalten vs aufhalten
Shared letters: aehlnt. Private to "anhalten": -. Private to "aufhalten": fu.
"anhalten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "aufhalten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "anhalten" and "aufhalten" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "anhalten" vs "aufhalten" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "anhalten" and "aufhalten" 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 "aufhalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,948,493 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anhalten" and "aufhalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anhalten vs anschalten". 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 #1,948,493 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.