HarschvsHaschWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#49,767
“Harsch” frequency rank
#40,586
“Hasch” frequency rank
90353
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Harsch Hasch
Definition Oberflächenkruste auf der Schneedecke, die durch Antauen und Frieren entstanden ist aus dem von den Drüsenhaaren an Blättern, Blüten und Stengeln (besonders der weiblichen Pflanzen) ausgeschiedenen harzartigen Sekret ursprünglich vor allem in Indien und im Orient (Naher Osten und Nordafrika) angebauter Sorten des Indischen Hanfs (Cannabis sativa indica) gewonnenes Mittel beziehungsweise Präparat, das bei Einnahme einen durch die im Sekret befindlichen ätherischen Öle (vor allem durch den darin enthaltenen psychoaktiven Wirkstoff Tetrahydrocannabinol) verursachten Rauschzustand bewirkt und deshalb als Ingredienz vor allem von Rauchwaren sowie Gebäck, Süßigkeiten und Getränken verwendet wird (und daher als Genussmittel, Mode- und Volksdroge zu psychischer [nicht physischer] Abhängigkeit führen und dessen Genuss sich somit als Einstiegsdroge zu stärkeren Rauschgiften auswirken kann, wodurch sich – international – eine Uneinigkeit bezüglich Tolerierung und Legalisierung des Besitzes, Konsums und Handels erklärt)

Where the eye mixes Harsch and Hasch

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

6 ch
Harsch
5 ch
Hasch

Visual trap between Harsch and Hasch

A purely visual mix-up. Harsch ([haʁʃ]) and Hasch ([haʃ]) 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 90353, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Harsch is recorded at frequency rank #49,767, classified as anoun, pronounced [haʁʃ]. Hasch is at rank #40,586, tagged as anoun, pronounced [haʃ].

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 90353, this pair ranks #47,853 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Harsch vs Hasch

Shared letters: achs. Private to "Harsch": r. Private to "Hasch": -.

"Harsch" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC  ·  "Hasch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Harsch ← ahrsch · harcsh · harrsch · harscch · harschh · harshc · harssch · hasrch
  • Hasch ← ahsch · hacsh · hascch · haschh · hashc · hassch · hhasch · hsach

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Harsch" and "Hasch" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([haʁʃ] versus [haʃ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Harsch" or "Hasch"?
"Hasch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,586 in our German list, against #49,767 for "Harsch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Harsch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Hasch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #47,853 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Harsch" and "Hasch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Harsch vs hash". 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 #47,853 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