Which to use
“vorbehalten” and “vorgehalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,992
- “vorbehalten” frequency rank
- #27,561
- “vorgehalten” frequency rank
- 34553
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vorbehalten | vorgehalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem oder sich selbst eine bestimmte Handlung/Maßnahme (für die Zukunft) offenlassen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs vorhalten |
Where the eye mixes vorbehalten and vorgehalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. vorbehalten and vorgehalten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses vorbehalten with vorgehalten
A purely visual mix-up. vorbehalten ([ˈfoːɐ̯bəˌhaltn̩]) and vorgehalten ([ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌhaltn̩]) 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 a single letter - b in “vorbehalten” becomes g in “vorgehalten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vorbehalten is recorded at frequency rank #6,992, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯bəˌhaltn̩]. vorgehalten is at rank #27,561, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌhaltn̩].
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 34553, this pair ranks #1,660,664 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vorbehalten vs vorgehalten
Shared letters: aehlnortv. Private to "vorbehalten": b. Private to "vorgehalten": g.
"vorbehalten" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVC · "vorgehalten" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vorbehalten ← ovrbehalten · vobrehalten · vorbbehalten · vorbeahlten · vorbehaletn · vorbehallten · vorbehaltenn · vorbehaltne
- vorgehalten ← ovrgehalten · vogrehalten · voreghalten · vorgeahlten · vorgehaletn · vorgehallten · vorgehaltenn · vorgehaltne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vorbehalten" and "vorgehalten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "vorbehalten" or "vorgehalten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "vorbehalten" and "vorgehalten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vorbehalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorgehalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,660,664 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vorbehalten" and "vorgehalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorgehalten vs vorgehaltener". 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 #1,660,664 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.