Which to use
“Häftling” and “Häftlinge” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,616
- “Häftling” frequency rank
- #11,676
- “Häftlinge” frequency rank
- 29292
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Häftling | Häftlinge |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Person, die in Haft ist | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Häftling |
Where the eye mixes Häftling and Häftlinge
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Häftling runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCC) against Häftlinge's 9 (CVCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Häftling and Häftlinge
A purely visual mix-up. Häftling ([ˈhɛftlɪŋ]) and Häftlinge ([ˈhɛftlɪŋə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Häftling” sits inside “Häftlinge”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29292, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Häftling is recorded at frequency rank #17,616, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛftlɪŋ]. Häftlinge is at rank #11,676, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛftlɪŋə].
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 29292, this pair ranks #1,769,559 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Häftling vs Häftlinge
Shared letters: fghilntä. Private to "Häftling": -. Private to "Häftlinge": e.
"Häftling" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC · "Häftlinge" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Häftling" and "Häftlinge" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Häftling" or "Häftlinge"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Häftling" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Häftlinge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,769,559 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Häftling" and "Häftlinge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Häftling vs handling". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,769,559 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.