Which to use
“aufzuhalten” and “aufzuhängen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,663
- “aufzuhalten” frequency rank
- #42,352
- “aufzuhängen” frequency rank
- 55015
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufzuhalten | aufzuhängen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aufhalten | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aufhängen |
Where the eye mixes aufzuhalten and aufzuhängen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. aufzuhalten and aufzuhängen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between aufzuhalten and aufzuhängen
A purely visual mix-up. aufzuhalten ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌhaltn̩]) and aufzuhängen ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌhɛŋən]) 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 55015, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aufzuhalten is recorded at frequency rank #12,663, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌhaltn̩]. aufzuhängen is at rank #42,352, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌhɛŋən].
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 55015, this pair ranks #996,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aufzuhalten vs aufzuhängen
Shared letters: aefhnuz. Private to "aufzuhalten": lt. Private to "aufzuhängen": gä.
"aufzuhalten" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC · "aufzuhängen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aufzuhalten ← afuzuhalten · auffzuhalten · aufuzhalten · aufzhualten · aufzuahlten · aufzuhaletn · aufzuhallten · aufzuhaltenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aufzuhalten" for "aufzuhängen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "aufzuhalten" or "aufzuhängen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "aufzuhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufzuhängen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #996,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufzuhalten" and "aufzuhängen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufzufangen 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 #996,042 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.