EnthaltungvsEnthauptungWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#37,491
“Enthaltung” frequency rank
#36,913
“Enthauptung” frequency rank
74404
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Enthaltung Enthauptung
Definition „das meistens freiwillige Sichenthalten von Genüssen, Essen oder Trinken“ gewaltsame Abtrennung des Kopfes vom Rumpf

Where the eye mixes Enthaltung and Enthauptung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Enthaltung runs 10 letters (VCCCVCCVCC) against Enthauptung's 11 (VCCCVVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Enthaltung
11 ch
Enthauptung

Visual trap between Enthaltung and Enthauptung

A purely visual mix-up. Enthaltung ([ɛntˈhaltʊŋ]) and Enthauptung ([ɛntˈhaʊ̯ptʊŋ]) 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 74404, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Enthaltung is recorded at frequency rank #37,491, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛntˈhaltʊŋ]. Enthauptung is at rank #36,913, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛntˈhaʊ̯ptʊŋ].

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 74404, this pair ranks #334,391 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Enthaltung vs Enthauptung

Shared letters: aeghntu. Private to "Enthaltung": l. Private to "Enthauptung": p.

"Enthaltung" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC  ·  "Enthauptung" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Enthaltung ← enhtaltung · ennthaltung · entahltung · enthalltung · enthaltnug · enthalttung · enthaltugn · enthaltungg
  • Enthauptung ← enhtauptung · ennthauptung · entahuptung · enthaputung · enthaupptung · enthauptnug · enthaupttung · enthauptugn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Enthaltung" for "Enthauptung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈhaltʊŋ] versus [ɛntˈhaʊ̯ptʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Enthaltung" or "Enthauptung"?
"Enthauptung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,913 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.

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 "Enthaltung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Enthauptung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #334,391 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Enthaltung" and "Enthauptung" 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 #334,391 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