EinhaltungvsEnthaltungWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,350
“Einhaltung” frequency rank
#37,491
“Enthaltung” frequency rank
45841
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Einhaltung Enthaltung
Definition Befolgung einer Regel „das meistens freiwillige Sichenthalten von Genüssen, Essen oder Trinken“

Where the eye mixes Einhaltung and Enthaltung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Einhaltung (VVCCVCCVCC) and Enthaltung (VCCCVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

10 ch
Einhaltung
10 ch
Enthaltung

Look-alike desk: Einhaltung vs Enthaltung

A purely visual mix-up. Einhaltung ([ˈaɪ̯nˌhaltʊŋ]) and Enthaltung ([ɛntˈhaltʊŋ]) 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 45841, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Einhaltung is recorded at frequency rank #8,350, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌhaltʊŋ]. Enthaltung is at rank #37,491, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛntˈhaltʊŋ].

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 45841, this pair ranks #1,339,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Einhaltung vs Enthaltung

Shared letters: aeghlntu. Private to "Einhaltung": i. Private to "Enthaltung": -.

"Einhaltung" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCC  ·  "Enthaltung" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Einhaltung ← eihnaltung · einahltung · einhalltung · einhaltnug · einhalttung · einhaltugn · einhaltungg · einhaltunng
  • Enthaltung ← enhtaltung · ennthaltung · entahltung · enthalltung · enthaltnug · enthalttung · enthaltugn · enthaltungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Einhaltung" for "Enthaltung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nˌhaltʊŋ] versus [ɛntˈhaltʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Einhaltung" vs "Enthaltung" - which ranks higher?
"Einhaltung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,350 in our German list, against #37,491 for "Enthaltung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Einhaltung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Enthaltung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,339,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Einhaltung" and "Enthaltung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Enthaltung vs Enthaltungen". 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 #1,339,427 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