Which to use
“Hälften” is a noun and “holten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,775
- “Hälften” frequency rank
- #14,832
- “holten” frequency rank
- 42607
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hälften | holten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Hälfte | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs holen |
Where the eye mixes Hälften and holten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Hälften and holten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hälften is [ˈhɛlftn̩] while holten is [ˈhoːltn̩]. 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 42607, 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]. holten is at rank #14,832, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhoːltn̩].
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 42607, this pair ranks #1,444,158 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Hälften vs holten
Shared letters: ehlnt. Private to "Hälften": fä. Private to "holten": o.
"Hälften" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "holten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- holten ← hholten · hloten · holetn · hollten · holtenn · holtne · holtten · hotlen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Hälften" for "holten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Hälften" or "holten" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hälften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "holten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,444,158 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hälften" and "holten" 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 #1,444,158 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.