HähnevsHaufeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#49,790
“Hähne” frequency rank
#35,224
“Haufe” frequency rank
85014
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hähne Haufe
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Hahn an einer Stelle ungeordnet übereinander geworfene Dinge, die so einen kleinen Hügel bilden

Where the eye mixes Hähne and Haufe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Hähne (CVCCV) and Haufe (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Hähne
5 ch
Haufe

Why the eye confuses Hähne with Haufe

A purely visual mix-up. Hähne ([ˈhɛːnə]) and Haufe ([ˈhaʊ̯fə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hähne is recorded at frequency rank #49,790, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛːnə]. Haufe is at rank #35,224, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhaʊ̯fə].

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 85014, this pair ranks #114,785 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Hähne vs Haufe

Shared letters: eh. Private to "Hähne": nä. Private to "Haufe": afu.

"Hähne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Haufe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Haufe ← ahufe · hafue · hauef · hauffe · hhaufe · huafe

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hähne" and "Haufe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɛːnə] versus [ˈhaʊ̯fə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Hähne" or "Haufe"?
"Haufe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,224 in our German list, against #49,790 for "Hähne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Hähne" and "Haufe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hähne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Haufe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #114,785 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hähne" and "Haufe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hähne vs haze". 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 #114,785 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list