Which to use
“half” and “hau” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,182
- “half” frequency rank
- #7,064
- “hau” frequency rank
- 12246
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | half | hau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs helfen | 2. Person Singular Präsens Imperativ Aktiv des Verbs hauen |
Where the eye mixes half and hau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: half vs hau
A purely visual mix-up. half ([half]) and hau ([haʊ̯]) 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 12246, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
half is recorded at frequency rank #5,182, classified as averb, pronounced [half]. hau is at rank #7,064, tagged as averb, pronounced [haʊ̯].
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 12246, this pair ranks #1,965,342 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of half vs hau
Shared letters: ah. Private to "half": fl. Private to "hau": u.
"half" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "hau" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- half ← ahlf · hafl · halff · hallf · hhalf · hlaf
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "half" for "hau" ever safe?
Frequency check: "half" vs "hau" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "half" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,965,342 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "half" and "hau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hau 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 #1,965,342 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.