zurückhalten

Name: zurückhalten, German Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

[t͡suˈʁʏkˌhaltn̩]

/[t͡suˈʁʏkˌhaltn̩]/ verb

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“zurückhalten” has 19 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #15,537. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,537
frequency rank, German: 37,643
“Z” headwords: 19
tracked misspellings: 7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - jemanden oder etwas nicht gehen lassen

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

zurückhalten vs zurückholen

83% similar

zurückhalten vs Zurückhaltung

77% similar

zurückhalten vs zurückhaltend

92% similar

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

Key facts for zurückhalten
Property	Value
Headword	zurückhalten
Language	German
Part of speech	Verb
IPA	[t͡suˈʁʏkˌhaltn̩]
Letters	12
Frequency rank	#15,537
Misspellings tracked	19
Confusable pairs	7
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “zurückhalten” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). zurückhalten lands here:

#15,537

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around zurückhalten (IPA [t͡suˈʁʏkˌhaltn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #15,537 among 37,643 “Z” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for zurückhalten, with forms such as "uzrückhalten", "zruückhalten", and "zurcükhalten". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "zurückholen", "Zurückhaltung", "zurückhaltend", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is zurückhalten, spelled Z-U-R-Ü-C-K-H-A-L-T-E-N.

Definition

1
jemanden oder etwas nicht gehen lassen
2
jemanden am Vordringen hindern
3
jemanden daran hindern, etwas zu tun
4
etwas nicht freigeben
5
(eine Nachricht, Neuigkeit) nicht bekannt geben
6
etwas (absichtlich) in seinem Körper behalten
7
etwas (vor allem Emotionen) unterdrücken
8
etwas nicht erkennbar werden lassen, nicht öffentlich zur Schau stellen
9
mit etwas noch warten
10
nichts oder wenig tun; sich im Hintergrund halten
11
sich beherrschen (emotional; beim Essen, Trinken)

Synonyms

aufhalten unterdrücken bändigen zähmen bremsen beherrschen mäßigen zügeln

This word in other languages

keep(English)contener(Español)retenir(Français)reservar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

uzrückhalten
zruückhalten
zurcükhalten
zurrückhalten
zurücckhalten
zurüchkalten
zurückahlten
zurückhaletn
zurückhallten
zurückhaltenn
zurückhaltne
zurückhaltten
zurückhatlen
zurückhhalten
zurückhlaten
zurückkhalten
zurükchalten
zuürckhalten
zzurückhalten

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of zurückhalten - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

Edit distance from "zurückhalten"

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 "zurückhalten"?

"zurückhalten" is spelled Z-U-R-Ü-C-K-H-A-L-T-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [t͡suˈʁʏkˌhaltn̩].

What does "zurückhalten" mean?

As a verb, "zurückhalten" means: jemanden oder etwas nicht gehen lassen

What words are commonly confused with "zurückhalten"?

"zurückhalten" is commonly confused with "zurückholen", "Zurückhaltung", "zurückhaltend". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "zurückhalten"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "zurückhalten" is [t͡suˈʁʏkˌhaltn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "zurückhalten" come from?

"zurückhalten" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.

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.

Using “zurückhalten”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct German spelling is Z-U-R-Ü-C-K-H-A-L-T-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as [t͡suˈʁʏkˌhaltn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “zurückholen” - see the side-by-side comparison. zurückhalten vs zurückholen
Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Same frequency band

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.