anhalten

[ˈanˌhaltn̩]

/[ˈanˌhaltn̩]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“anhalten” has 12 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #9,139. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,139
frequency rank, German
6,976
“A” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - jemanden zu etwas ermahnen

Corpus desk

Index DE-anhalten · anhalten · German

anhalten · rank #9,139 · 12 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,139
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,976
  • PHOTO-FINISH angrenzenden

Nearest frequency peer: angrenzenden (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “anhalten”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “anhalten” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

anhalten vs Anwälte
50% similar
anhalten vs Annalen
63% similar
anhalten vs Anhalts
63% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for anhalten
PropertyValue
Headwordanhalten
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈanˌhaltn̩]
Letters8
Frequency rank#9,139
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “anhalten” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).anhaltenliegt hier:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „angrenzenden“ (#9,138), „angehören“ (#9,137), „Araber“ (#9,141). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around anhalten (IPA [ˈanˌhaltn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #9,139 among 6,976 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for anhalten, with forms such as "ahnalten", "anahlten", and "anhaletn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "Anwälte", "Annalen", "Anhalts", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is anhalten, spelled A-N-H-A-L-T-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    jemanden zu etwas ermahnen
  2. 2
    etwas, jemanden zum Stillstand bringen, stoppen
  3. 3
    etwas (an etwas) anlegen (z. B. ein Lineal)
  4. 4
    stehenbleiben, zum Stillstand kommen
  5. 5
    andauern
  6. 6
    sich um etwas bewerben, um etwas bitten
  7. 7
    sich wegen der Stabilität oder der Sicherheit mit der Hand an etwas oder jemanden klammern

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how anhalten appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Ich halte dich dazu an, deine Hausaufgaben gründlich zu erledigen.
  2. „Wir sind öffentlich-rechtlicher Rundfunk und darum angehalten, das Problem in einer mehr positiven Art anzugehen.“

Synonyms

ermahnenbremsenstoppenanlegenstehenbleibenverharrenandauerndauernwährenerbittenfesthalten

Antonyms

untersagenverbietenabnehmenentfernenwegnehmenweiterfahrenweitergehenabbrechenaufhörenablehnenunterlassenverwerfen

This word in other languages

urge(English)parar(Español)exhorter(Français)deter(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ahnalten
  • anahlten
  • anhaletn
  • anhallten
  • anhaltenn
  • anhaltne
  • anhaltten
  • anhatlen
  • anhhalten
  • anhlaten
  • annhalten
  • nahalten

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of anhalten - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ahnalten2anahlten2anhaletn2anhallten1anhaltenn1anhaltne2anhaltten1anhatlen2
Edit distance from "anhalten"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "anhalten"?
"anhalten" is spelled A-N-H-A-L-T-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈanˌhaltn̩].
What does "anhalten" mean?
As a verb, "anhalten" means: jemanden zu etwas ermahnen
What words are commonly confused with "anhalten"?
"anhalten" is commonly confused with "Anwälte", "Annalen", "Anhalts". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "anhalten"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "anhalten" is [ˈanˌhaltn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "anhalten" come from?
"anhalten" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "anhalten", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Allerlei#9,135absetzen#9,133abgelegt#9,132Wladimir#9,124

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

belasten12 variantsVorlagen12 variantsderselbe12 variantsUrkunden12 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "anhalten". Here's where to go from here.

  • "anhalten" maps to 18 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Anwälte". View pair
  • 12 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #9,139 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list