HähnchenvsHäkchenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,953
“Hähnchen” frequency rank
#35,842
“Häkchen” frequency rank
55795
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hähnchen Häkchen
Definition jung geschlachtetes Huhn beiderlei Geschlechts kleiner oder winziger Haken

Where the eye mixes Hähnchen and Häkchen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
Hähnchen
7 ch
Häkchen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Hähnchen ([ˈhɛːnçən]) and Häkchen ([ˈhɛːkçən]) 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 55795, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hähnchen is recorded at frequency rank #19,953, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛːnçən]. Häkchen is at rank #35,842, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛːkçən].

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 55795, this pair ranks #965,461 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hähnchen vs Häkchen

Shared letters: cehnä. Private to "Hähnchen": -. Private to "Häkchen": k.

"Hähnchen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC  ·  "Häkchen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hähnchen" and "Häkchen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɛːnçən] versus [ˈhɛːkçən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Hähnchen" or "Häkchen"?
"Hähnchen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,953 in our German list, against #35,842 for "Häkchen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list