Which to use
“Hafen” and “Häuten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,532
- “Hafen” frequency rank
- #48,238
- “Häuten” frequency rank
- 51770
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hafen | Häuten |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Tötung durch Entfernen der Haut |
Where the eye mixes Hafen and Häuten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Hafen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Häuten's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Hafen and Häuten
A purely visual mix-up. Hafen ([ˈhaːfn̩]) and Häuten ([ˈhɔɪ̯tn̩]) 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 51770, 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]. Häuten is at rank #48,238, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɔɪ̯tn̩].
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 51770, this pair ranks #1,122,684 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Hafen vs Häuten
Shared letters: ehn. Private to "Hafen": af. Private to "Häuten": tuä.
"Hafen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Häuten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Hafen ← ahfen · haefn · hafenn · haffen · hafne · hfaen · hhafen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Hafen" for "Häuten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Hafen" vs "Häuten" - which ranks higher?
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 "Hafen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Häuten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,122,684 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hafen" and "Häuten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "harren vs Häuten". 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 #1,122,684 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.