anhalten
German, verb
anhalten is spelled A-N-H-A-L-T-E-N (8 letters) and appears 7.2 times per million words in written German, the 9,162nd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Anhalten is a German verb meaning “to stop (cease moving)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Anhalten is a different word: “gerund of anhalten”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “jemanden zu etwas ermahnen”.
What does anhalten mean in English?
verb
- 1
to stop (cease moving)
Wir müssen an der roten Ampel anhalten.
- 2
to continue, to last
Das schlechte Wetter hält an.
- 3
to stop, to hold, to keep from moving
Ich halte den Wagen an.
- 4
to urge, to encourage, to compel (to do something) (often by referring to the matter repeatedly)
- 5
to hold tight, to hold on to something or someone
- 6
datedto ask for
um die Hand der Tochter anhalten
noun
- 1
neutergerund of anhalten
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. jemanden zu etwas ermahnen 2. etwas, jemanden zum Stillstand bringen, stoppen 3. etwas (an etwas) anlegen (z. B. ein Lineal) 4. stehenbleiben, zum Stillstand kommen
noun: 1. Abhalten von der Bewegung
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of anhalten
- hält an present singular third-person
- hielt an past
- angehalten participle past
- haben auxiliary
- 7 strong
- anhaltend participle present
- anzuhalten infinitive infinitive-zu
- halte an first-person indicative present
- halten an first-person indicative plural
- hältst an indicative present second-person
- haltet an indicative plural present
- haltest an second-person singular subjunctive
- hielten an first-person indicative plural
- hielte an first-person singular subjunctive
- hieltest an indicative preterite second-person
- hieltst an indicative preterite second-person
- hieltet an indicative plural preterite
- halt an! imperative singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to anhalten
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is anhalten in German?
anhalten appears 7.2 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).