Which to use
“aufhalten” and “aufhängen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,679
- “aufhalten” frequency rank
- #12,232
- “aufhängen” frequency rank
- 17911
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufhalten | aufhängen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden/etwas nicht weitergehen/weiterfortschreiten lassen | an eine bestimmte, dafür vorgesehene Stelle hängen (zum Beispiel an einen Haken) |
Where the eye mixes aufhalten and aufhängen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. aufhalten and aufhängen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses aufhalten with aufhängen
A purely visual mix-up. aufhalten ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhaltn̩]) and aufhängen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhɛŋən]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17911, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aufhalten is recorded at frequency rank #5,679, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌhaltn̩]. aufhängen is at rank #12,232, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌhɛŋən].
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 17911, this pair ranks #1,923,142 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aufhalten vs aufhängen
Shared letters: aefhnu. Private to "aufhalten": lt. Private to "aufhängen": gä.
"aufhalten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC · "aufhängen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aufhalten ← afuhalten · aufahlten · auffhalten · aufhaletn · aufhallten · aufhaltenn · aufhaltne · aufhaltten
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aufhalten" for "aufhängen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "aufhalten" or "aufhängen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "aufhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufhängen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,923,142 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufhalten" and "aufhängen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufhängen vs aufzuhängen". 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 #1,923,142 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.