behaartvsbehältWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: behaart is a adjective, behält is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“behaart” is an adjective and “behält” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,851
“behaart” frequency rank
#8,031
“behält” frequency rank
31882
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature behaart behält
Definition Haare am Körper besitzend 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs behalten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set behaart and behält apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
behaart
6 ch
behält

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: behaart is [bəˈhaːɐ̯t] while behält is [bəˈhɛlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

behaart is recorded at frequency rank #23,851, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈhaːɐ̯t]. behält is at rank #8,031, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈhɛlt].

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 31882, this pair ranks #1,719,119 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of behaart vs behält

Shared letters: beht. Private to "behaart": ar. Private to "behält": .

"behaart" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC  ·  "behält" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • behaartbbehaart · beahart · behaarrt · behaartt · behaatr · beharat · behart · behhaart

Frequency comparison

behaart#23,851
behält#8,031

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "behaart" and "behält" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "behaart" is an adjective and "behält" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "behaart" or "behält"?
"behält" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,031 in our German list, against #23,851 for "behaart". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering behaart vs behält

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “behaart”; for a verb, it's “behält”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “behaart” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list