Which to use
“Hacke” is a noun and “hak” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,553
- “Hacke” frequency rank
- #38,795
- “hak” frequency rank
- 62348
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hacke | hak |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gartengerät zum Auflockern der Erde | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs haken |
Where the eye mixes Hacke and hak
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Hacke runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against hak's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Hacke with hak
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hacke is [ˈhakə] while hak is [haːk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62348, 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]. hak is at rank #38,795, tagged as averb, pronounced [haːk].
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 62348, this pair ranks #716,201 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Hacke vs hak
Shared letters: ahk. Private to "Hacke": ce. Private to "hak": -.
"Hacke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hak" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Hacke ← ahcke · haccke · hacek · hackke · hakce · hcake · hhacke
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Hacke" for "hak" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Hacke" vs "hak" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hacke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hak" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #716,201 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hacke" and "hak" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hak vs haze". 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 #716,201 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.