Which to use
“ham” and “harm” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,294
- “ham” frequency rank
- #46,723
- “harm” frequency rank
- 57017
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ham | harm |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | äußerste Hautschicht bei Amphibien und Reptilien; Haut | körperlicher oder geistiger Schaden |
Letter map: ham vs harm
Shared letters muted; letters that set ham and harm apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Pair insight - ham / harm
ham and harm are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ham is recorded at frequency rank #10,294, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɑmˀ]. harm is at rank #46,723, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].
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 57017, this pair ranks #917,738 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ham vs harm
Shared letters: ahm. Private to "ham": -. Private to "harm": r.
"ham" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "harm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- harm ← ahrm · hamr · harmm · harrm · hharm · hram
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ham" and "harm" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "ham" or "harm" show up more?
What to do next
You've compared "ham" and "harm". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "ham" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "harm" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #917,738 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ham" and "harm" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "harm vs puzzles". 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 #917,738 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.