Which to use
“aufgehalten” and “aufhalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,167
- “aufgehalten” frequency rank
- #5,679
- “aufhalten” frequency rank
- 16846
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufgehalten | aufhalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs aufhalten | jemanden/etwas nicht weitergehen/weiterfortschreiten lassen |
Where the eye mixes aufgehalten and aufhalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. aufgehalten runs 11 letters (VVCCVCVCCVC) against aufhalten's 9 (VVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between aufgehalten and aufhalten
A purely visual mix-up. aufgehalten ([ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌhaltn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16846, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aufgehalten is recorded at frequency rank #11,167, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌhaltn̩]. 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 16846, this pair ranks #1,932,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aufgehalten vs aufhalten
Shared letters: aefhlntu. Private to "aufgehalten": g. Private to "aufhalten": -.
"aufgehalten" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC · "aufhalten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aufgehalten ← afugehalten · aufeghalten · auffgehalten · aufgeahlten · aufgehaletn · aufgehallten · aufgehaltenn · aufgehaltne
- aufhalten ← afuhalten · aufahlten · auffhalten · aufhaletn · aufhallten · aufhaltenn · aufhaltne · aufhaltten
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "aufgehalten" and "aufhalten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "aufgehalten" or "aufhalten" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "aufgehalten" 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 #1,932,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufgehalten" and "aufhalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufhalten vs aufhielten". 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 #1,932,527 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.