gehaltenvsGehälternWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gehalten is a adjective, Gehältern is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gehalten and Gehältern apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
gehalten
9 ch
Gehältern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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": .

"gehalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "Gehältern" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gehalteneghalten · geahlten · gehaletn · gehallten · gehaltenn · gehaltne · gehaltten · gehatlen

Frequency comparison

gehalten#1,419
Gehältern#45,963

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gehalten" and "Gehältern" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gehalten" is an adjective and "Gehältern" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gehalten" or "Gehältern"?
"gehalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,419 in our German list, against #45,963 for "Gehältern". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gehalten vs Gehältern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “gehalten”; for a noun, it's “Gehältern”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gehalten” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list