Which to use
“Hälften” is a noun and “halten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,775
- “Hälften” frequency rank
- #395
- “halten” frequency rank
- 28170
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hälften | halten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Hälfte | etwas durch Kraftausübung in Ruhe belassen oder bringen |
Where the eye mixes Hälften and halten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Hälften vs halten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hälften is [ˈhɛlftn̩] while halten is [ˈhaltn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28170, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hälften is recorded at frequency rank #27,775, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛlftn̩]. halten is at rank #395, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhaltn̩].
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 28170, this pair ranks #1,789,344 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Hälften vs halten
Shared letters: ehlnt. Private to "Hälften": fä. Private to "halten": a.
"Hälften" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "halten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- halten ← ahlten · haletn · hallten · haltenn · haltne · haltten · hatlen · hhalten
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Hälften" and "halten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Hälften" or "halten"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hälften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "halten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,789,344 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hälften" and "halten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hälften 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 #1,789,344 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.