Which to use
“gehalten” and “gespalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,419
- “gehalten” frequency rank
- #13,846
- “gespalten” frequency rank
- 15265
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gehalten | gespalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | maßvoll, beherrscht | durch Spaltung in zwei oder mehrere Teile geteilt |
Where the eye mixes gehalten and gespalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gehalten runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against gespalten's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gehalten with gespalten
A purely visual mix-up. gehalten ([ɡəˈhaltn̩]) and gespalten ([ɡəˈʃpaltn̩]) 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 15265, 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]. gespalten is at rank #13,846, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʃpaltn̩].
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 15265, this pair ranks #1,945,190 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gehalten vs gespalten
Shared letters: aeglnt. Private to "gehalten": h. Private to "gespalten": ps.
"gehalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gespalten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gehalten" and "gespalten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "gehalten" or "gespalten" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gehalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gespalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,945,190 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gehalten" and "gespalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gespalten vs gestalte". 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 #1,945,190 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.