haftetvshältstTell them apart

Which to use

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

#14,316
“haftet” frequency rank
#9,218
“hältst” frequency rank
23534
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature haftet hältst
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs haften 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs halten

Where the eye mixes haftet and hältst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. haftet (CVCCVC) and hältst (CVCCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
haftet
6 ch
hältst

Why the eye confuses haftet with hältst

A purely visual mix-up. haftet ([ˈhaftət]) and hältst ([hɛlt͡st]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23534, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

haftet is recorded at frequency rank #14,316, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhaftət]. hältst is at rank #9,218, tagged as averb, pronounced [hɛlt͡st].

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 23534, this pair ranks #1,860,035 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of haftet vs hältst

Shared letters: ht. Private to "haftet": aef. Private to "hältst": lsä.

"haftet" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "hältst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • haftet ← ahftet · hafett · hafftet · haftett · haftte · hafttet · hatfet · hfatet

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "haftet" and "hältst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhaftət] versus [hɛlt͡st]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "haftet" or "hältst"?
"hältst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,218 in our German list, against #14,316 for "haftet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "haftet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hältst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,860,035 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "haftet" and "hältst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "haftet 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 #1,860,035 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