Which to use
“gehalten” is an adjective and “Gehältern” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,419
- “gehalten” frequency rank
- #45,963
- “Gehältern” frequency rank
- 47382
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gehalten | Gehältern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | maßvoll, beherrscht | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Gehalt |
Where the eye mixes gehalten and Gehältern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gehalten runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against Gehältern's 9 (CVCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: gehalten vs Gehältern
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gehalten is [ɡəˈhaltn̩] while Gehältern is [ɡəˈhɛltɐn]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47382, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gehalten is recorded at frequency rank #1,419, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈhaltn̩]. Gehältern is at rank #45,963, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈhɛltɐn].
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 47382, this pair ranks #1,286,199 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gehalten vs Gehältern
Shared letters: eghlnt. Private to "gehalten": a. Private to "Gehältern": rä.
"gehalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "Gehältern" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gehalten ← eghalten · geahlten · gehaletn · gehallten · gehaltenn · gehaltne · gehaltten · gehatlen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gehalten" for "Gehältern" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "gehalten" or "Gehältern" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gehalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Gehältern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,286,199 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gehalten" and "Gehältern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gealtert vs Gehältern". 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 #1,286,199 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.