HacksvsHadesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#34,711
“Hacks” frequency rank
#38,792
“Hades” frequency rank
73503
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hacks Hades
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Hack Gott der Unterwelt, Bruder des Zeus

Where the eye mixes Hacks and Hades

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Hacks (CVCCC) and Hades (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Hacks
5 ch
Hades

Look-alike desk: Hacks vs Hades

A purely visual mix-up. Hacks ([haks]) and Hades ([ˈhaːdɛs]) 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 73503, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hacks is recorded at frequency rank #34,711, classified as anoun, pronounced [haks]. Hades is at rank #38,792, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhaːdɛs].

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 73503, this pair ranks #358,641 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Hacks vs Hades

Shared letters: ahs. Private to "Hacks": ck. Private to "Hades": de.

"Hacks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Hades" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hacks ← ahcks · haccks · hackks · hackss · hacsk · hakcs · hcaks · hhacks
  • Hades ← ahdes · haddes · hadess · hadse · haeds · hdaes · hhades

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Hacks" for "Hades" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([haks] versus [ˈhaːdɛs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Hacks" or "Hades"?
"Hacks" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,711 in our German list, against #38,792 for "Hades". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hacks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Hades" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #358,641 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hacks" and "Hades" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hades vs haze". 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 #358,641 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