haftenvshaltendConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#12,504
“haften” frequency rank
#46,719
“haltend” frequency rank
59223
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature haften haltend
Definition an etwas kleben, an etwas festhängen Partizip Präsens des Verbs halten

Where the eye mixes haften and haltend

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. haften runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against haltend's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
haften
7 ch
haltend

Visual trap between haften and haltend

A purely visual mix-up. haften ([ˈhaftn̩]) and haltend ([ˈhaltn̩t]) 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 59223, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

haften is recorded at frequency rank #12,504, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhaftn̩]. haltend is at rank #46,719, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhaltn̩t].

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 59223, this pair ranks #832,648 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of haften vs haltend

Shared letters: aehnt. Private to "haften": f. Private to "haltend": dl.

"haften" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "haltend" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • haften ← ahften · hafetn · hafften · haftenn · haftne · haftten · hatfen · hfaten
  • haltend ← ahltend · haletnd · halltend · haltedn · haltendd · haltennd · haltned · halttend

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "haften" and "haltend" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhaftn̩] versus [ˈhaltn̩t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "haften" vs "haltend" - which ranks higher?
"haften" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,504 in our German list, against #46,719 for "haltend". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "haften" and "haltend" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "haften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "haltend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #832,648 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "haften" and "haltend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "haltend vs Häuten". 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 #832,648 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list