enthältvsenthaltenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,474
“enthält” frequency rank
#1,658
“enthalten” frequency rank
3132
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enthält enthalten
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs enthalten so beschaffen sein, dass das eine (mit dem stets nötigen Akkusativ-Objekt Bezeichnete) ein Teil des anderen (des mit dem Subjekt Bezeichneten) ist; einen Inhalt haben; bestehen aus

Where the eye mixes enthält and enthalten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. enthält runs 7 letters (VCCCVCC) against enthalten's 9 (VCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
enthält
9 ch
enthalten

Why the eye confuses enthält with enthalten

A purely visual mix-up. enthält ([ɛntˈhɛlt]) and enthalten ([ɛntˈhaltn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3132, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enthält is recorded at frequency rank #1,474, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈhɛlt]. enthalten is at rank #1,658, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈhaltn̩].

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 3132, this pair ranks #2,000,874 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of enthält vs enthalten

Shared letters: ehlnt. Private to "enthält": ä. Private to "enthalten": a.

"enthält" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC  ·  "enthalten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enthalten ← enhtalten · ennthalten · entahlten · enthaletn · enthallten · enthaltenn · enthaltne · enthaltten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "enthält" and "enthalten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈhɛlt] versus [ɛntˈhaltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "enthält" vs "enthalten" - which ranks higher?
"enthält" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,474 in our German list, against #1,658 for "enthalten". 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 "enthält" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "enthalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,000,874 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "enthält" and "enthalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enthalten vs Enthaltung". 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 #2,000,874 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