gehaltenvsgewähltenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,419
“gehalten” frequency rank
#6,542
“gewählten” frequency rank
7961
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gehalten gewählten
Definition maßvoll, beherrscht Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gewählt

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
gehalten
9 ch
gewählten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gehalten ([ɡəˈhaltn̩]) and gewählten ([ɡəˈvɛːltn̩]) 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 7961, 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]. gewählten is at rank #6,542, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvɛːltn̩].

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 7961, this pair ranks #1,986,155 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gehalten vs gewählten

Shared letters: eghlnt. Private to "gehalten": a. Private to "gewählten": .

"gehalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gewählten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequency comparison

gehalten#1,419
gewählten#6,542

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gehalten" and "gewählten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈhaltn̩] versus [ɡəˈvɛːltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gehalten" or "gewählten"?
"gehalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,419 in our German list, against #6,542 for "gewählten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gehalten vs gewählten

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