HaarevshaleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,028
“Haare” frequency rank
#35,821
“hale” frequency rank
37849
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Haare hale
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Haar Dativ Singular des Substantivs hala

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Haare and hale apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Haare
4 ch
hale

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Haare ([ˈhaːʁə]) and hale ([ˈɦalɛ]) 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 37849, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Haare is recorded at frequency rank #2,028, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhaːʁə]. hale is at rank #35,821, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɦalɛ].

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 37849, this pair ranks #1,579,473 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Haare vs hale

Shared letters: aeh. Private to "Haare": r. Private to "hale": l.

"Haare" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "hale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Haareahare · haaer · haarre · harae · hhaare
  • haleahle · hael · hhale · hlae

Frequency comparison

Haare#2,028
hale#35,821

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Haare" and "hale" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhaːʁə] versus [ˈɦalɛ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Haare" or "hale"?
"Haare" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,028 in our German list, against #35,821 for "hale". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Haare vs hale

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Haare” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list