Which to use
“Hacke” and “hale” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,553
- “Hacke” frequency rank
- #35,821
- “hale” frequency rank
- 59374
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hacke | hale |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gartengerät zum Auflockern der Erde | Dativ Singular des Substantivs hala |
Where the eye mixes Hacke and hale
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Hacke runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against hale's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Hacke with hale
A purely visual mix-up. Hacke ([ˈhakə]) 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 59374, 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]. 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 59374, this pair ranks #826,898 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Hacke vs hale
Shared letters: aeh. Private to "Hacke": ck. Private to "hale": l.
"Hacke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Hacke" for "hale" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Hacke" or "hale" show up more?
After this comparison
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 "hale" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #826,898 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hacke" and "hale" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hähne vs hale". 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 #826,898 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.