hältstvshattestWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,218
“hältst” frequency rank
#4,354
“hattest” frequency rank
13572
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hältst hattest
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs halten 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs haben

Where the eye mixes hältst and hattest

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hältst runs 6 letters (CVCCCC) against hattest's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
hältst
7 ch
hattest

Look-alike desk: hältst vs hattest

A purely visual mix-up. hältst ([hɛlt͡st]) and hattest ([ˈhatəst]) 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 13572, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hältst is recorded at frequency rank #9,218, classified as averb, pronounced [hɛlt͡st]. hattest is at rank #4,354, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhatəst].

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 13572, this pair ranks #1,957,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hältst vs hattest

Shared letters: hst. Private to "hältst": lä. Private to "hattest": ae.

"hältst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC  ·  "hattest" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hattest ← ahttest · hatest · hatetst · hattesst · hattestt · hattets · hattset · hhattest

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hältst" and "hattest" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([hɛlt͡st] versus [ˈhatəst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "hältst" or "hattest" show up more?
"hattest" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,354 in our German list, against #9,218 for "hältst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hältst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hattest" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,957,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hältst" and "hattest" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hallt vs hältst". 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 #1,957,125 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