Which to use
“aufhalten” and “aufholen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,679
- “aufhalten” frequency rank
- #27,629
- “aufholen” frequency rank
- 33308
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufhalten | aufholen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden/etwas nicht weitergehen/weiterfortschreiten lassen | oder einen Rückstand oder eine Verspätung verringern |
Where the eye mixes aufhalten and aufholen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. aufhalten runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against aufholen's 8 (VVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses aufhalten with aufholen
A purely visual mix-up. aufhalten ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhaltn̩]) and aufholen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhoːlən]) 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 33308, 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]. aufholen is at rank #27,629, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌhoːlən].
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 33308, this pair ranks #1,688,779 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aufhalten vs aufholen
Shared letters: aefhlnu. Private to "aufhalten": t. Private to "aufholen": o.
"aufhalten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC · "aufholen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "aufhalten" and "aufholen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "aufhalten" vs "aufholen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "aufhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufholen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,688,779 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufhalten" and "aufholen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufholen vs aufzuholen". 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 #1,688,779 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.