HakenkreuzvsHakenkreuzeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#22,368
“Hakenkreuz” frequency rank
#45,331
“Hakenkreuze” frequency rank
67699
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hakenkreuz Hakenkreuze
Definition ein ursprünglich religiöses Symbol (Sonnenrad, Rad des Lebens und anderes), ein Kreuzsymbol mit gebogenen Armen Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Hakenkreuz

Where the eye mixes Hakenkreuz and Hakenkreuze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Hakenkreuz runs 10 letters (CVCVCCCVVC) against Hakenkreuze's 11 (CVCVCCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Hakenkreuz
11 ch
Hakenkreuze

Visual trap between Hakenkreuz and Hakenkreuze

A purely visual mix-up. Hakenkreuz ([ˈhaːkn̩ˌkʁɔɪ̯t͡s]) and Hakenkreuze ([ˈhaːkn̩ˌkʁɔɪ̯t͡sə]) 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) - “Hakenkreuz” sits inside “Hakenkreuze”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67699, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hakenkreuz is recorded at frequency rank #22,368, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhaːkn̩ˌkʁɔɪ̯t͡s]. Hakenkreuze is at rank #45,331, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhaːkn̩ˌkʁɔɪ̯t͡sə].

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 67699, this pair ranks #531,590 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hakenkreuz vs Hakenkreuze

Shared letters: aehknruz. Private to "Hakenkreuz": -. Private to "Hakenkreuze": -.

"Hakenkreuz" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVVC  ·  "Hakenkreuze" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hakenkreuz ← ahkenkreuz · haeknkreuz · hakeknreuz · hakenkeruz · hakenkkreuz · hakenkreuzz · hakenkrezu · hakenkrreuz
  • Hakenkreuze ← ahkenkreuze · haeknkreuze · hakeknreuze · hakenkeruze · hakenkkreuze · hakenkreuez · hakenkreuzze · hakenkrezue

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Hakenkreuz" for "Hakenkreuze" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhaːkn̩ˌkʁɔɪ̯t͡s] versus [ˈhaːkn̩ˌkʁɔɪ̯t͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Hakenkreuz" or "Hakenkreuze" show up more?
"Hakenkreuz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,368 in our German list, against #45,331 for "Hakenkreuze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hakenkreuz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Hakenkreuze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #531,590 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #531,590 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