Which to use
“Holder” is a noun and “holten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,739
- “Holder” frequency rank
- #14,832
- “holten” frequency rank
- 49571
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Holder | holten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der Holunder | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs holen |
Where the eye mixes Holder and holten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Holder with holten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Holder is [ˈhɔldɐ] while holten is [ˈhoːltn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49571, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Holder is recorded at frequency rank #34,739, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɔldɐ]. 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 49571, this pair ranks #1,206,413 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Holder vs holten
Shared letters: ehlo. Private to "Holder": dr. Private to "holten": nt.
"Holder" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "holten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Holder" for "holten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Holder" vs "holten" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Holder" 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 #1,206,413 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Holder" and "holten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hader vs Holder". 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 #1,206,413 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.