Which to use
“hale” and “Held” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,821
- “hale” frequency rank
- #4,618
- “Held” frequency rank
- 40439
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hale | Held |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dativ Singular des Substantivs hala | jemand, der sich besonders mutig oder erfolgreich für andere oder für eine Sache einsetzt oder bei einem Einsatz umkommt |
Where the eye mixes hale and Held
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. hale (CVCV) and Held (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses hale with Held
A purely visual mix-up. hale ([ˈɦalɛ]) and Held ([hɛlt]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40439, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hale is recorded at frequency rank #35,821, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɦalɛ]. Held is at rank #4,618, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hɛlt].
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 40439, this pair ranks #1,508,483 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hale vs Held
Shared letters: ehl. Private to "hale": a. Private to "Held": d.
"hale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Held" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hale" and "Held" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "hale" vs "Held" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Held" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,508,483 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hale" and "Held" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hähne vs hale". 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 #1,508,483 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.