Which to use
“enthalten” is a verb and “enthaltenen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,658
- “enthalten” frequency rank
- #10,463
- “enthaltenen” frequency rank
- 12121
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enthalten | enthaltenen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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 | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs enthalten |
Where the eye mixes enthalten and enthaltenen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. enthalten runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against enthaltenen's 11 (VCCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between enthalten and enthaltenen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: enthalten is [ɛntˈhaltn̩] while enthaltenen is [ɛntˈhaltənən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “enthalten” sits inside “enthaltenen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enthalten is recorded at frequency rank #1,658, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈhaltn̩]. enthaltenen is at rank #10,463, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈhaltənən].
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 12121, this pair ranks #1,966,064 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of enthalten vs enthaltenen
Shared letters: aehlnt. Private to "enthalten": -. Private to "enthaltenen": -.
"enthalten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "enthaltenen" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- enthalten ← enhtalten · ennthalten · entahlten · enthaletn · enthallten · enthaltenn · enthaltne · enthaltten
- enthaltenen ← enhtaltenen · ennthaltenen · entahltenen · enthaletnen · enthalltenen · enthalteenn · enthaltenenn · enthaltenne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "enthalten" and "enthaltenen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "enthalten" or "enthaltenen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "enthalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "enthaltenen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,966,064 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enthalten" and "enthaltenen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enthaltenen 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 #1,966,064 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.