Which to use
“gegolten” is a verb and “gehalten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,762
- “gegolten” frequency rank
- #1,419
- “gehalten” frequency rank
- 40181
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gegolten | gehalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs gelten | maßvoll, beherrscht |
Where the eye mixes gegolten and gehalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between gegolten and gehalten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gegolten is [ɡəˈɡɔltn̩] while gehalten is [ɡəˈhaltn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gegolten is recorded at frequency rank #38,762, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈɡɔltn̩]. gehalten is at rank #1,419, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈhaltn̩].
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 40181, this pair ranks #1,515,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gegolten vs gehalten
Shared letters: eglnt. Private to "gegolten": o. Private to "gehalten": ah.
"gegolten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gehalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gegolten" and "gehalten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "gegolten" or "gehalten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gegolten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gehalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,515,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gegolten" and "gehalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gegolten vs gelobten". 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 #1,515,797 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.