verwaltenvsVorhaltenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: verwalten is a verb, Vorhalten is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verwalten” is a verb and “Vorhalten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,511
“verwalten” frequency rank
#29,411
“Vorhalten” frequency rank
42922
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verwalten Vorhalten
Definition sich auftragsgemäß um etwas kümmern Dativ Plural des Substantivs Vorhalt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verwalten and Vorhalten apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
verwalten
9 ch
Vorhalten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verwalten is [fɛɐ̯ˈvaltn̩] while Vorhalten is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌhaltn̩]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42922, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verwalten is recorded at frequency rank #13,511, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈvaltn̩]. Vorhalten is at rank #29,411, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌhaltn̩].

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 42922, this pair ranks #1,434,246 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verwalten vs Vorhalten

Shared letters: aelnrtv. Private to "verwalten": w. Private to "Vorhalten": ho.

"verwalten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "Vorhalten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verwaltenevrwalten · verawlten · verrwalten · verwaletn · verwallten · verwaltenn · verwaltne · verwaltten
  • Vorhaltenovrhalten · vohralten · vorahlten · vorhaletn · vorhallten · vorhaltenn · vorhaltne · vorhaltten

Frequency comparison

verwalten#13,511
Vorhalten#29,411

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verwalten" and "Vorhalten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verwalten" is a verb and "Vorhalten" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verwalten" or "Vorhalten"?
"verwalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,511 in our German list, against #29,411 for "Vorhalten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verwalten vs Vorhalten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “verwalten”; for a noun, it's “Vorhalten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verwalten” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list