Which to use
“aufhalten” and “aufhielten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,679
- “aufhalten” frequency rank
- #41,036
- “aufhielten” frequency rank
- 46715
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufhalten | aufhielten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden/etwas nicht weitergehen/weiterfortschreiten lassen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs aufhalten |
Where the eye mixes aufhalten and aufhielten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. aufhalten runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against aufhielten's 10 (VVCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: aufhalten vs aufhielten
A purely visual mix-up. aufhalten ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhaltn̩]) and aufhielten ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhiːltn̩]) 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 46715, 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]. aufhielten is at rank #41,036, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌhiːltn̩].
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 46715, this pair ranks #1,309,496 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aufhalten vs aufhielten
Shared letters: aefhlntu. Private to "aufhalten": -. Private to "aufhielten": i.
"aufhalten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC · "aufhielten" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aufhalten ← afuhalten · aufahlten · auffhalten · aufhaletn · aufhallten · aufhaltenn · aufhaltne · aufhaltten
- aufhielten ← afuhielten · auffhielten · aufheilten · aufhhielten · aufhieletn · aufhiellten · aufhieltenn · aufhieltne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "aufhalten" and "aufhielten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "aufhalten" or "aufhielten"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "aufhalten" and "aufhielten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "aufhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufhielten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,309,496 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufhalten" and "aufhielten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufhielt 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 #1,309,496 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.