Which to use
“haften” is a verb and “Heften” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,504
- “haften” frequency rank
- #30,112
- “Heften” frequency rank
- 42616
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | haften | Heften |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an etwas kleben, an etwas festhängen | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Heft |
Where the eye mixes haften and Heften
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between haften and Heften
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: haften is [ˈhaftn̩] while Heften is [ˈhɛftn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “haften” becomes e in “Heften”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42616, 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]. Heften is at rank #30,112, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛftn̩].
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 42616, this pair ranks #1,443,852 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of haften vs Heften
Shared letters: efhnt. Private to "haften": a. Private to "Heften": -.
"haften" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Heften" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "haften" and "Heften" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "haften" vs "Heften" - 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 "haften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Heften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,443,852 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "haften" and "Heften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Häuten vs Heften". 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 #1,443,852 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.