Which to use
“holde” is an adjective and “holen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #45,352
- “holde” frequency rank
- #1,328
- “holen” frequency rank
- 46680
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | holde | holen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hold | etwas oder jemanden herbeischaffen |
Where the eye mixes holde and holen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. holde (CVCCV) and holen (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses holde with holen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: holde is [ˈhɔldə] while holen is [ˈhoːlən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46680, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
holde is recorded at frequency rank #45,352, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɔldə]. holen is at rank #1,328, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhoːlən].
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 46680, this pair ranks #1,310,738 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of holde vs holen
Shared letters: ehlo. Private to "holde": d. Private to "holen": n.
"holde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "holen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "holde" and "holen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "holde" or "holen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "holde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "holen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,310,738 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "holde" and "holen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hola vs holde". 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 #1,310,738 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.