Which to use
“enthalten” and “enthielten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,658
- “enthalten” frequency rank
- #19,200
- “enthielten” frequency rank
- 20858
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enthalten | enthielten |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs enthalten |
Where the eye mixes enthalten and enthielten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. enthalten runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against enthielten's 10 (VCCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: enthalten vs enthielten
A purely visual mix-up. enthalten ([ɛntˈhaltn̩]) and enthielten ([ɛntˈhiːltn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20858, 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]. enthielten is at rank #19,200, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈhiːltn̩].
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 20858, this pair ranks #1,892,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of enthalten vs enthielten
Shared letters: ehlnt. Private to "enthalten": a. Private to "enthielten": i.
"enthalten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "enthielten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- enthalten ← enhtalten · ennthalten · entahlten · enthaletn · enthallten · enthaltenn · enthaltne · enthaltten
- enthielten ← enhtielten · ennthielten · entheilten · enthhielten · enthieletn · enthiellten · enthieltenn · enthieltne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "enthalten" and "enthielten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "enthalten" vs "enthielten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "enthielten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,892,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enthalten" and "enthielten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entfielen vs enthielten". 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 #1,892,934 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.