Which to use
“hacken” is a verb and “Hacks” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,485
- “hacken” frequency rank
- #34,711
- “Hacks” frequency rank
- 45196
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hacken | Hacks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem spitzen Werkzeug auflockern, zerkleinern, zerschlagen | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Hack |
Where the eye mixes hacken and Hacks
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hacken with Hacks
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hacken is [ˈhakn̩] while Hacks is [haks]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45196, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hacken is recorded at frequency rank #10,485, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhakn̩]. Hacks is at rank #34,711, tagged as anoun, pronounced [haks].
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 45196, this pair ranks #1,361,217 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hacken vs Hacks
Shared letters: achk. Private to "hacken": en. Private to "Hacks": s.
"hacken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Hacks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hacken" for "Hacks" ever safe?
Which is more common, "hacken" or "Hacks"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hacken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Hacks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,361,217 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hacken" and "Hacks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hacks vs hak". 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 #1,361,217 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.