Which to use
“Häftling” and “Haftung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,616
- “Häftling” frequency rank
- #9,380
- “Haftung” frequency rank
- 26996
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Häftling | Haftung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Person, die in Haft ist | die rechtliche Belangbarkeit |
Where the eye mixes Häftling and Haftung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Häftling runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCC) against Haftung's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Häftling vs Haftung
A purely visual mix-up. Häftling ([ˈhɛftlɪŋ]) and Haftung ([ˈhaftʊŋ]) 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 26996, 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]. Haftung is at rank #9,380, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhaftʊŋ].
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 26996, this pair ranks #1,808,954 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Häftling vs Haftung
Shared letters: fghnt. Private to "Häftling": ilä. Private to "Haftung": au.
"Häftling" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC · "Haftung" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Haftung ← ahftung · hafftung · haftnug · hafttung · haftugn · haftungg · haftunng · hafutng
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Häftling" and "Haftung" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Häftling" or "Haftung"?
Useful next steps
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 "Haftung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,808,954 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Häftling" and "Haftung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Häftling vs handling". 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 #1,808,954 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.