Which to use
“hielt” and “hielte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,392
- “hielt” frequency rank
- #44,683
- “hielte” frequency rank
- 46075
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hielt | hielte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs halten | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs halten |
Where the eye mixes hielt and hielte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. hielt runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against hielte's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses hielt with hielte
A purely visual mix-up. hielt ([hiːlt]) and hielte ([ˈhiːltə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “hielt” sits inside “hielte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hielt is recorded at frequency rank #1,392, classified as averb, pronounced [hiːlt]. hielte is at rank #44,683, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhiːltə].
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 46075, this pair ranks #1,331,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hielt vs hielte
Shared letters: ehilt. Private to "hielt": -. Private to "hielte": -.
"hielt" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "hielte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hielt" for "hielte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "hielt" or "hielte"?
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 "hielt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hielte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,331,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hielt" and "hielte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hegte vs hielte". 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 #1,331,467 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.