HändevshängteConfusable pair

Quick tell: Hände is a noun, hängte is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Hände” is a noun and “hängte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,453
“Hände” frequency rank
#42,582
“hängte” frequency rank
44035
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hände hängte
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Hand 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs hängen

Where the eye mixes Hände and hängte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Hände runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against hängte's 6 (CVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Hände
6 ch
hängte

Visual trap between Hände and hängte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hände is [ˈhɛndə] while hängte is [ˈhɛŋtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44035, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hände is recorded at frequency rank #1,453, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛndə]. hängte is at rank #42,582, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛŋtə].

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 44035, this pair ranks #1,399,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hände vs hängte

Shared letters: ehnä. Private to "Hände": d. Private to "hängte": gt.

"Hände" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "hängte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Hände" and "hängte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Hände" is a noun and "hängte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Hände" or "hängte"?
"Hände" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,453 in our German list, against #42,582 for "hängte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hände" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hängte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,399,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hände" and "hängte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hängte vs Hengste". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,399,125 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