Which to use
“enthalten” is a verb and “Enthaltung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,658
- “enthalten” frequency rank
- #37,491
- “Enthaltung” frequency rank
- 39149
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enthalten | Enthaltung |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | „das meistens freiwillige Sichenthalten von Genüssen, Essen oder Trinken“ |
Where the eye mixes enthalten and Enthaltung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. enthalten runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against Enthaltung's 10 (VCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: enthalten vs Enthaltung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: enthalten is [ɛntˈhaltn̩] while Enthaltung is [ɛntˈhaltʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39149, 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]. 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 39149, this pair ranks #1,544,767 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of enthalten vs Enthaltung
Shared letters: aehlnt. Private to "enthalten": -. Private to "Enthaltung": gu.
"enthalten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "Enthaltung" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- enthalten ← enhtalten · ennthalten · entahlten · enthaletn · enthallten · enthaltenn · enthaltne · enthaltten
- Enthaltung ← enhtaltung · ennthaltung · entahltung · enthalltung · enthaltnug · enthalttung · enthaltugn · enthaltungg
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "enthalten" and "Enthaltung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "enthalten" or "Enthaltung" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "enthalten" 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 #1,544,767 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enthalten" 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 #1,544,767 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.