hängtevshärteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,582
“hängte” frequency rank
#9,738
“härte” frequency rank
52320
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hängte härte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs hängen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs härten

Where the eye mixes hängte and härte

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

6 ch
hängte
5 ch
härte

Visual trap between hängte and härte

A purely visual mix-up. hängte ([ˈhɛŋtə]) and härte ([ˈhɛʁtə]) 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 52320, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hängte is recorded at frequency rank #42,582, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛŋtə]. härte is at rank #9,738, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛʁtə].

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 52320, this pair ranks #1,101,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hängte vs härte

Shared letters: ehtä. Private to "hängte": gn. Private to "härte": r.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "hängte" for "härte" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɛŋtə] versus [ˈhɛʁtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hängte" or "härte"?
"härte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,738 in our German list, against #42,582 for "hängte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hängte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "härte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,101,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hängte" and "härte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hängte vs Hengste". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,101,380 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