Which to use
“hale” and “ham” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,821
- “hale” frequency rank
- #10,294
- “ham” frequency rank
- 46115
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hale | ham |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dativ Singular des Substantivs hala | äußerste Hautschicht bei Amphibien und Reptilien; Haut |
Where the eye mixes hale and ham
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hale with ham
A purely visual mix-up. hale ([ˈɦalɛ]) and ham ([ˈhɑmˀ]) 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 46115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hale is recorded at frequency rank #35,821, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɦalɛ]. ham is at rank #10,294, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɑmˀ].
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 46115, this pair ranks #1,330,116 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hale vs ham
Shared letters: ah. Private to "hale": el. Private to "ham": m.
"hale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "ham" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hale ← ahle · hael · hhale · hlae
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hale" for "ham" ever safe?
Frequency check: "hale" vs "ham" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ham" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,330,116 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hale" and "ham" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hähne vs hale". 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 #1,330,116 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.