Which to use
“abhaken” and “anhaben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,894
- “abhaken” frequency rank
- #24,606
- “anhaben” frequency rank
- 57500
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abhaken | anhaben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem Häkchen versehen | ein Kleidungsstück am Körper tragen |
Where the eye mixes abhaken and anhaben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abhaken and anhaben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses abhaken with anhaben
A purely visual mix-up. abhaken ([ˈapˌhaːkn̩]) and anhaben ([ˈanˌhaːbn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57500, 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]. anhaben is at rank #24,606, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌhaːbn̩].
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 57500, this pair ranks #898,962 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abhaken vs anhaben
Shared letters: abehn. Private to "abhaken": k. Private to "anhaben": -.
"abhaken" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "anhaben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abhaken" and "anhaben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "abhaken" vs "anhaben" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abhaken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anhaben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #898,962 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abhaken" and "anhaben" 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 #898,962 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.