Which to use
“Hacke” and “Hackern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,553
- “Hacke” frequency rank
- #46,715
- “Hackern” frequency rank
- 70268
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hacke | Hackern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gartengerät zum Auflockern der Erde | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Hacker |
Where the eye mixes Hacke and Hackern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Hacke with Hackern
A purely visual mix-up. Hacke ([ˈhakə]) and Hackern ([ˈhakɐn]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Hacke” sits inside “Hackern”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70268, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hacke is recorded at frequency rank #23,553, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhakə]. Hackern is at rank #46,715, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhakɐn].
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 70268, this pair ranks #451,458 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Hacke vs Hackern
Shared letters: acehk. Private to "Hacke": -. Private to "Hackern": nr.
"Hacke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Hackern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Hacke" for "Hackern" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Hacke" or "Hackern"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hacke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Hackern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #451,458 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hacke" and "Hackern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hackern vs häkeln". 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 #451,458 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.