anzuhaltenvsauszuhaltenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#26,302
“anzuhalten” frequency rank
#19,499
“auszuhalten” frequency rank
45801
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anzuhalten auszuhalten
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs anhalten erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aushalten

Where the eye mixes anzuhalten and auszuhalten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. anzuhalten runs 10 letters (VCCVCVCCVC) against auszuhalten's 11 (VVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
anzuhalten
11 ch
auszuhalten

Visual trap between anzuhalten and auszuhalten

A purely visual mix-up. anzuhalten ([ˈant͡suˌhaltn̩]) and auszuhalten ([ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌhaltn̩]) 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 45801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anzuhalten is recorded at frequency rank #26,302, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈant͡suˌhaltn̩]. auszuhalten is at rank #19,499, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌhaltn̩].

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 45801, this pair ranks #1,340,794 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of anzuhalten vs auszuhalten

Shared letters: aehlntuz. Private to "anzuhalten": -. Private to "auszuhalten": s.

"anzuhalten" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC  ·  "auszuhalten" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anzuhalten ← annzuhalten · anuzhalten · anzhualten · anzuahlten · anzuhaletn · anzuhallten · anzuhaltenn · anzuhaltne
  • auszuhalten ← asuzuhalten · ausszuhalten · ausuzhalten · auszhualten · auszuahlten · auszuhaletn · auszuhallten · auszuhaltenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "anzuhalten" and "auszuhalten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈant͡suˌhaltn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌhaltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "anzuhalten" or "auszuhalten" show up more?
"auszuhalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,499 in our German list, against #26,302 for "anzuhalten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "anzuhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "auszuhalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,340,794 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "anzuhalten" and "auszuhalten" 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 #1,340,794 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