festhältvsfesthieltConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#24,333
“festhält” frequency rank
#41,806
“festhielt” frequency rank
66139
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature festhält festhielt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs festhalten 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs festhalten

Where the eye mixes festhält and festhielt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. festhält runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCC) against festhielt's 9 (CVCCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
festhält
9 ch
festhielt

Look-alike desk: festhält vs festhielt

A purely visual mix-up. festhält ([ˈfɛstˌhɛlt]) and festhielt ([ˈfɛstˌhiːlt]) 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 66139, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

festhält is recorded at frequency rank #24,333, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɛstˌhɛlt]. festhielt is at rank #41,806, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfɛstˌhiːlt].

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 66139, this pair ranks #583,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of festhält vs festhielt

Shared letters: efhlst. Private to "festhält": ä. Private to "festhielt": i.

"festhält" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC  ·  "festhielt" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • festhieltefsthielt · feshtielt · fessthielt · festheilt · festhhielt · festhiellt · festhieltt · festhietl

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "festhält" and "festhielt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛstˌhɛlt] versus [ˈfɛstˌhiːlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "festhält" vs "festhielt" - which ranks higher?
"festhält" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,333 in our German list, against #41,806 for "festhielt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "festhält" and "festhielt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "festhält" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "festhielt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #583,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "festhält" and "festhielt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "festhielt vs Festzelt". 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 #583,306 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