behaltenvsbehaltetTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,017
“behalten” frequency rank
#45,795
“behaltet” frequency rank
47812
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature behalten behaltet
Definition im Besitz einer Sache bleiben 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs behalten

Where the eye mixes behalten and behaltet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
behalten
8 ch
behaltet

Visual trap between behalten and behaltet

A purely visual mix-up. behalten ([bəˈhaltn̩]) and behaltet ([bəˈhaltət]) 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 a single letter - n in “behalten” becomes t in “behaltet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47812, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

behalten is recorded at frequency rank #2,017, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈhaltn̩]. behaltet is at rank #45,795, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈhaltət].

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 47812, this pair ranks #1,271,072 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of behalten vs behaltet

Shared letters: abehlt. Private to "behalten": n. Private to "behaltet": -.

"behalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "behaltet" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • behaltenbbehalten · beahlten · behaletn · behallten · behaltenn · behaltne · behaltten · behatlen
  • behaltetbbehaltet · beahltet · behalett · behalltet · behaltett · behalttet · behatlet · behhaltet

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "behalten" and "behaltet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈhaltn̩] versus [bəˈhaltət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "behalten" vs "behaltet" - which ranks higher?
"behalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,017 in our German list, against #45,795 for "behaltet". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "behalten" and "behaltet" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "behalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "behaltet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,271,072 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "behalten" and "behaltet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Behältern vs behaltet". 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 #1,271,072 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