HammervsHemmerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,257
“Hammer” frequency rank
#43,955
“Hemmer” frequency rank
47212
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hammer Hemmer
Definition Werkzeug bestehend aus Hammerkopf und Stiel etwas, das eine Reaktion verhindert oder zumindest abbremst

Where the eye mixes Hammer and Hemmer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Hammer
6 ch
Hemmer

Look-alike desk: Hammer vs Hemmer

A purely visual mix-up. Hammer ([ˈhamɐ]) and Hemmer ([ˈhɛmɐ]) 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 a single letter - a in “Hammer” becomes e in “Hemmer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hammer is recorded at frequency rank #3,257, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhamɐ]. Hemmer is at rank #43,955, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛmɐ].

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 47212, this pair ranks #1,292,326 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hammer vs Hemmer

Shared letters: ehmr. Private to "Hammer": a. Private to "Hemmer": -.

"Hammer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Hemmer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hammerahmmer · hamemr · hamer · hammerr · hammre · hhammer · hmamer
  • Hemmerehmmer · hememr · hemmerr · hemmre · hhemmer · hmemer

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hammer" and "Hemmer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhamɐ] versus [ˈhɛmɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Hammer" vs "Hemmer" - which ranks higher?
"Hammer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,257 in our German list, against #43,955 for "Hemmer". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Hammer" and "Hemmer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hammer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Hemmer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,292,326 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hammer" and "Hemmer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hemer vs Hemmer". 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 #1,292,326 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