behältvsbeharrtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,031
“behält” frequency rank
#31,951
“beharrt” frequency rank
39982
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature behält beharrt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs behalten Partizip Perfekt des Verbs beharren

Where the eye mixes behält and beharrt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
behält
7 ch
beharrt

Look-alike desk: behält vs beharrt

A purely visual mix-up. behält ([bəˈhɛlt]) and beharrt ([bəˈhaʁt]) 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 39982, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

behält is recorded at frequency rank #8,031, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈhɛlt]. beharrt is at rank #31,951, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈhaʁt].

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 39982, this pair ranks #1,521,384 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of behält vs beharrt

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

"behält" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "beharrt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beharrtbbeharrt · beahrrt · beharrtt · behartr · behharrt · behrart · bhearrt · ebharrt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "behält" and "beharrt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈhɛlt] versus [bəˈhaʁt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "behält" or "beharrt"?
"behält" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,031 in our German list, against #31,951 for "beharrt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "behält" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "beharrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,521,384 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "behält" and "beharrt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beharren vs beharrt". 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 #1,521,384 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