abhakenvsabhängenConfusable pair

Which to use

“abhaken” and “abhängen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#32,894
“abhaken” frequency rank
#10,026
“abhängen” frequency rank
42920
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abhaken abhängen
Definition mit einem Häkchen versehen zur Bedingung haben

Where the eye mixes abhaken and abhängen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abhaken runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against abhängen's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
abhaken
8 ch
abhängen

Visual trap between abhaken and abhängen

A purely visual mix-up. abhaken ([ˈapˌhaːkn̩]) and abhängen ([ˈapˌhɛŋən]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42920, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abhaken is recorded at frequency rank #32,894, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌhaːkn̩]. abhängen is at rank #10,026, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌhɛŋən].

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 42920, this pair ranks #1,434,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abhaken vs abhängen

Shared letters: abehn. Private to "abhaken": k. Private to "abhängen": gä.

"abhaken" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "abhängen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abhaken ← abahken · abbhaken · abhaekn · abhakenn · abhakken · abhakne · abhhaken · abhkaen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abhaken" and "abhängen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌhaːkn̩] versus [ˈapˌhɛŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abhaken" vs "abhängen" - which ranks higher?
"abhängen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,026 in our German list, against #32,894 for "abhaken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abhaken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abhängen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,434,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abhaken" and "abhängen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abhaken vs abraten". 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 #1,434,302 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list