Which to use
“hacken” and “härten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,485
- “hacken” frequency rank
- #47,493
- “härten” frequency rank
- 57978
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hacken | härten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem spitzen Werkzeug auflockern, zerkleinern, zerschlagen | transitiv: |
Where the eye mixes hacken and härten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. hacken and härten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses hacken with härten
A purely visual mix-up. hacken ([ˈhakn̩]) and härten ([ˈhɛʁtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57978, 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]. härten is at rank #47,493, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛʁtn̩].
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 57978, this pair ranks #880,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hacken vs härten
Shared letters: ehn. Private to "hacken": ack. Private to "härten": rtä.
"hacken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "härten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hacken ← ahcken · haccken · hacekn · hackenn · hackken · hackne · hakcen · hcaken
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hacken" and "härten" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "hacken" vs "härten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hacken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "härten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #880,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hacken" and "härten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "harren vs härten". 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 #880,312 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.