holdvsholdeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,655
“hold” frequency rank
#45,352
“holde” frequency rank
61007
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hold holde
Definition sehr zart und hübsch Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hold

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hold and holde apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
hold
5 ch
holde

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hold ([hɔlt]) and holde ([ˈhɔldə]) 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) - “hold” sits inside “holde”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61007, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hold is recorded at frequency rank #15,655, classified as anadj, pronounced [hɔlt]. holde is at rank #45,352, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɔldə].

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 61007, this pair ranks #765,747 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hold vs holde

Shared letters: dhlo. Private to "hold": -. Private to "holde": e.

"hold" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "holde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • holdhhold · hlod · hodl · holdd · holld · ohld
  • holdehholde · hlode · hodle · holdde · holed · hollde · ohlde

Frequency comparison

hold#15,655
holde#45,352

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hold" and "holde" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([hɔlt] versus [ˈhɔldə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hold" or "holde"?
"hold" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,655 in our German list, against #45,352 for "holde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hold vs holde

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hold” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list