Which to use
“behielt” and “behielten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,183
- “behielt” frequency rank
- #24,634
- “behielten” frequency rank
- 35817
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | behielt | behielten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs behalten | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs behalten |
Where the eye mixes behielt and behielten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. behielt runs 7 letters (CVCVVCC) against behielten's 9 (CVCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: behielt vs behielten
A purely visual mix-up. behielt ([bəˈhiːlt]) and behielten ([bəˈhiːltn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “behielt” sits inside “behielten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35817, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
behielt is recorded at frequency rank #11,183, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈhiːlt]. behielten is at rank #24,634, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈhiːltn̩].
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 35817, this pair ranks #1,630,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of behielt vs behielten
Shared letters: behilt. Private to "behielt": -. Private to "behielten": n.
"behielt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC · "behielten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "behielt" and "behielten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "behielt" vs "behielten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "behielt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "behielten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,630,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "behielt" and "behielten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bedienten vs behielten". 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 #1,630,797 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.