gehaltenvsgemalteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,419
“gehalten” frequency rank
#40,556
“gemalte” frequency rank
41975
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gehalten gemalte
Definition maßvoll, beherrscht Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gemalt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gehalten and gemalte apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
gehalten
7 ch
gemalte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gehalten ([ɡəˈhaltn̩]) and gemalte ([ɡəˈmaːltə]) 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 41975, 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]. gemalte is at rank #40,556, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈmaːltə].

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 41975, this pair ranks #1,463,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gehalten vs gemalte

Shared letters: aeglt. Private to "gehalten": hn. Private to "gemalte": m.

"gehalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gemalte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gehalteneghalten · geahlten · gehaletn · gehallten · gehaltenn · gehaltne · gehaltten · gehatlen
  • gemalteegmalte · geamlte · gemalet · gemallte · gemaltte · gematle · gemlate · gemmalte

Frequency comparison

gehalten#1,419
gemalte#40,556

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gehalten" and "gemalte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈhaltn̩] versus [ɡəˈmaːltə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gehalten" or "gemalte"?
"gehalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,419 in our German list, against #40,556 for "gemalte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gehalten vs gemalte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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