einbehaltenvseinzuhaltenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#41,760
“einbehalten” frequency rank
#14,049
“einzuhalten” frequency rank
55809
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einbehalten einzuhalten
Definition im Besitz einer Sache bleiben, anstatt sie ihrem Besitzer zurückzugeben erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs einhalten

Where the eye mixes einbehalten and einzuhalten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. einbehalten and einzuhalten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
einbehalten
11 ch
einzuhalten

Why the eye confuses einbehalten with einzuhalten

A purely visual mix-up. einbehalten ([ˈaɪ̯nbəˌhaltn̩]) and einzuhalten ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌhaltn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55809, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einbehalten is recorded at frequency rank #41,760, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nbəˌhaltn̩]. einzuhalten is at rank #14,049, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌhaltn̩].

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 55809, this pair ranks #964,860 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of einbehalten vs einzuhalten

Shared letters: aehilnt. Private to "einbehalten": b. Private to "einzuhalten": uz.

"einbehalten" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC  ·  "einzuhalten" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einbehalten ← eibnehalten · einbbehalten · einbeahlten · einbehaletn · einbehallten · einbehaltenn · einbehaltne · einbehaltten
  • einzuhalten ← einnzuhalten · einuzhalten · einzhualten · einzuahlten · einzuhaletn · einzuhallten · einzuhaltenn · einzuhaltne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "einbehalten" and "einzuhalten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nbəˌhaltn̩] versus [ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌhaltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "einbehalten" or "einzuhalten" show up more?
"einzuhalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,049 in our German list, against #41,760 for "einbehalten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "einbehalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einzuhalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #964,860 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einbehalten" and "einzuhalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einbehalten vs Einhalten". 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 #964,860 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