haarenvshauenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,845
“haaren” frequency rank
#7,187
“hauen” frequency rank
13032
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature haaren hauen
Definition Haare verlieren einen oder mehrere Schläge mit der Faust / den Fäusten versetzen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set haaren and hauen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
haaren
5 ch
hauen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. haaren ([ˈhaːʁən]) and hauen ([ˈhaʊ̯ən]) 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 13032, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

haaren is recorded at frequency rank #5,845, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhaːʁən]. hauen is at rank #7,187, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhaʊ̯ən].

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 13032, this pair ranks #1,960,542 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of haaren vs hauen

Shared letters: aehn. Private to "haaren": r. Private to "hauen": u.

"haaren" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "hauen" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • haarenaharen · haaern · haarenn · haarne · haarren · haraen · haren · hhaaren
  • hauenahuen · haeun · hauenn · haune · hhauen · huaen

Frequency comparison

haaren#5,845
hauen#7,187

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "haaren" and "hauen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhaːʁən] versus [ˈhaʊ̯ən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "haaren" or "hauen"?
"haaren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,845 in our German list, against #7,187 for "hauen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering haaren vs hauen

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 “haaren” 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