Which to use
“hacken” is a verb and “Hecke” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,485
- “hacken” frequency rank
- #22,008
- “Hecke” frequency rank
- 32493
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hacken | Hecke |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem spitzen Werkzeug auflockern, zerkleinern, zerschlagen | Aufwuchs dicht beieinander stehender und stark verzweigter Sträucher oder Büsche |
Where the eye mixes hacken and Hecke
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hacken with Hecke
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hacken is [ˈhakn̩] while Hecke is [ˈhɛkə]. 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 32493, 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]. Hecke is at rank #22,008, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛkə].
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 32493, this pair ranks #1,706,419 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hacken vs Hecke
Shared letters: cehk. Private to "hacken": an. Private to "Hecke": -.
"hacken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Hecke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hacken" for "Hecke" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "hacken" or "Hecke" show up more?
After this comparison
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 "Hecke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,706,419 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hacken" and "Hecke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hecke vs hegte". 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 #1,706,419 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.