aufhältvsaufhörtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#17,510
“aufhält” frequency rank
#10,228
“aufhört” frequency rank
27738
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufhält aufhört
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs aufhalten 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs aufhören

Where the eye mixes aufhält and aufhört

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. aufhält and aufhört follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
aufhält
7 ch
aufhört

Look-alike desk: aufhält vs aufhört

A purely visual mix-up. aufhält ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhɛlt]) and aufhört ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhøːɐ̯t]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27738, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufhält is recorded at frequency rank #17,510, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌhɛlt]. aufhört is at rank #10,228, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌhøːɐ̯t].

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 27738, this pair ranks #1,796,695 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aufhält vs aufhört

Shared letters: afhtu. Private to "aufhält": lä. Private to "aufhört": rö.

"aufhält" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCC  ·  "aufhört" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aufhält" and "aufhört" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhɛlt] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌhøːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "aufhält" or "aufhört" show up more?
"aufhört" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,228 in our German list, against #17,510 for "aufhält". 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 "aufhält" and "aufhört" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aufhält" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aufhört" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,796,695 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aufhält" and "aufhört" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufhört vs aufhörte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,796,695 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