aushaltenvsaushelfenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,170
“aushalten” frequency rank
#27,637
“aushelfen” frequency rank
35807
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aushalten aushelfen
Definition eine unangenehme Situation ertragen oder ertragen können seine Kräfte vorübergehend an einer Stelle einbringen, an der akuter Bedarf besteht

Where the eye mixes aushalten and aushelfen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. aushalten and aushelfen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
aushalten
9 ch
aushelfen

Visual trap between aushalten and aushelfen

A purely visual mix-up. aushalten ([ˈaʊ̯sˌhaltn̩]) and aushelfen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌhɛlfn̩]) 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 35807, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aushalten is recorded at frequency rank #8,170, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌhaltn̩]. aushelfen is at rank #27,637, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌhɛlfn̩].

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 35807, this pair ranks #1,631,044 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aushalten vs aushelfen

Shared letters: aehlnsu. Private to "aushalten": t. Private to "aushelfen": f.

"aushalten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC  ·  "aushelfen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aushalten ← asuhalten · auhsalten · ausahlten · aushaletn · aushallten · aushaltenn · aushaltne · aushaltten
  • aushelfen ← asuhelfen · auhselfen · ausehlfen · ausheflen · aushelefn · aushelfenn · aushelffen · aushelfne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aushalten" and "aushelfen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌhaltn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌhɛlfn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "aushalten" or "aushelfen" show up more?
"aushalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,170 in our German list, against #27,637 for "aushelfen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aushalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aushelfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,631,044 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aushalten" and "aushelfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aushelfen vs Aushilfe". 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 #1,631,044 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