Which to use
“behaarten” is an adjective and “behalten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,992
- “behaarten” frequency rank
- #2,017
- “behalten” frequency rank
- 40009
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | behaarten | behalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs behaart | im Besitz einer Sache bleiben |
Where the eye mixes behaarten and behalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. behaarten runs 9 letters (CVCVVCCVC) against behalten's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: behaarten vs behalten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: behaarten is [bəˈhaːɐ̯tn̩] while behalten is [bəˈhaltn̩]. 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 40009, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
behaarten is recorded at frequency rank #37,992, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈhaːɐ̯tn̩]. behalten is at rank #2,017, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈhaltn̩].
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 40009, this pair ranks #1,520,604 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of behaarten vs behalten
Shared letters: abehnt. Private to "behaarten": r. Private to "behalten": l.
"behaarten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC · "behalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "behaarten" for "behalten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "behaarten" vs "behalten" - which ranks higher?
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 "behaarten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "behalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,520,604 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "behaarten" and "behalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "behaarten vs beharren". 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 #1,520,604 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.