Which to use
“Hafen” and “hale” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,532
- “Hafen” frequency rank
- #35,821
- “hale” frequency rank
- 39353
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hafen | hale |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | natürliches oder künstlich angelegtes Wasserbecken für Schiffe am Meeresrand oder an Binnenwasserwegen, um dort zu liegen und zu ankern, mit Anlagen zum Löschen, Laden, Reinigen und Ausbessern | Dativ Singular des Substantivs hala |
Where the eye mixes Hafen and hale
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Hafen and hale
A purely visual mix-up. Hafen ([ˈhaːfn̩]) and hale ([ˈɦalɛ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39353, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hafen is recorded at frequency rank #3,532, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhaːfn̩]. hale is at rank #35,821, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɦalɛ].
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 39353, this pair ranks #1,539,096 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Hafen vs hale
Shared letters: aeh. Private to "Hafen": fn. Private to "hale": l.
"Hafen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "hale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Hafen" and "hale" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Hafen" vs "hale" - 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 "Hafen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hale" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,539,096 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hafen" and "hale" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hähne vs hale". 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 #1,539,096 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.