Which to use
“Haken” is a noun and “hängen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,803
- “Haken” frequency rank
- #2,114
- “hängen” frequency rank
- 8917
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Haken | hängen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | geschwungen oder eckig gekrümmte Vorrichtung zum Aufhängen oder Einhaken von Objekten, meist aus Metall, Holz oder Kunststoff geformt | an einem festen Punkt (durch das Eigengewicht nach unten baumelnd) befestigen |
Where the eye mixes Haken and hängen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Haken runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against hängen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Haken vs hängen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Haken is [ˈhaːkn̩] while hängen is [ˈhɛŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8917, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Haken is recorded at frequency rank #6,803, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhaːkn̩]. hängen is at rank #2,114, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛŋən].
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 8917, this pair ranks #1,982,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Haken vs hängen
Shared letters: ehn. Private to "Haken": ak. Private to "hängen": gä.
"Haken" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "hängen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Haken ← ahken · haekn · hakenn · hakken · hakne · hhaken · hkaen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Haken" and "hängen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Haken" or "hängen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Haken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hängen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,982,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Haken" and "hängen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Haken 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 #1,982,237 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.