haftenvshärteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,504
“haften” frequency rank
#9,738
“härte” frequency rank
22242
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature haften härte
Definition an etwas kleben, an etwas festhängen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs härten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set haften and härte apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
haften
5 ch
härte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. haften ([ˈhaftn̩]) and härte ([ˈhɛʁtə]) 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 22242, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

haften is recorded at frequency rank #12,504, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhaftn̩]. härte is at rank #9,738, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛʁtə].

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 22242, this pair ranks #1,876,571 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of haften vs härte

Shared letters: eht. Private to "haften": afn. Private to "härte": .

"haften" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "härte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • haftenahften · hafetn · hafften · haftenn · haftne · haftten · hatfen · hfaten

Frequency comparison

haften#12,504
härte#9,738

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "haften" and "härte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhaftn̩] versus [ˈhɛʁtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "haften" or "härte"?
"härte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,738 in our German list, against #12,504 for "haften". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering haften vs härte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “haften” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list