HackervsHenkerWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Hacker” and “Henker” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,218
“Hacker” frequency rank
#19,602
“Henker” frequency rank
27820
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hacker Henker
Definition Computerspezialist, der insbesondere Sicherheitsbarrieren überwinden und, meistens unerlaubt, in fremde Systeme eindringen kann jemand, der Hinrichtungen vollzieht

Where the eye mixes Hacker and Henker

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Hacker
6 ch
Henker

Look-alike desk: Hacker vs Henker

A purely visual mix-up. Hacker ([ˈhɛkɐ]) and Henker ([ˈhɛŋkɐ]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27820, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hacker is recorded at frequency rank #8,218, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛkɐ]. Henker is at rank #19,602, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛŋkɐ].

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 27820, this pair ranks #1,795,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Hacker vs Henker

Shared letters: ehkr. Private to "Hacker": ac. Private to "Henker": n.

"Hacker" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Henker" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hackerahcker · haccker · hacekr · hackerr · hackker · hackre · hakcer · hcaker
  • Henkerehnker · hekner · henekr · henkerr · henkker · henkre · hennker · hhenker

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Hacker" and "Henker" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɛkɐ] versus [ˈhɛŋkɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Hacker" or "Henker"?
"Hacker" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,218 in our German list, against #19,602 for "Henker". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Hacker" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Henker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,795,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hacker" and "Henker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hemer vs Henker". 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 #1,795,302 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list