Which to use
“verhaftet” is an adjective and “verhalte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,311
- “verhaftet” frequency rank
- #28,909
- “verhalte” frequency rank
- 33220
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verhaftet | verhalte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich in einer Haftanstalt befindend | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verhalten |
Where the eye mixes verhaftet and verhalte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verhaftet runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against verhalte's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verhaftet with verhalte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verhaftet is [fɛɐ̯ˈhaftət] while verhalte is [fɛɐ̯ˈhaltə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33220, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verhaftet is recorded at frequency rank #4,311, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhaftət]. verhalte is at rank #28,909, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhaltə].
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 33220, this pair ranks #1,690,703 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verhaftet vs verhalte
Shared letters: aehrtv. Private to "verhaftet": f. Private to "verhalte": l.
"verhaftet" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verhalte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verhaftet" for "verhalte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "verhaftet" or "verhalte" show up more?
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 "verhaftet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verhalte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,690,703 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verhaftet" and "verhalte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verhalte vs verhärtet". 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 #1,690,703 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.