Which to use
“härte” and “hatte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,738
- “härte” frequency rank
- #91
- “hatte” frequency rank
- 9829
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | härte | hatte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs härten | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs haben |
Where the eye mixes härte and hatte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: härte vs hatte
A purely visual mix-up. härte ([ˈhɛʁtə]) and hatte ([ˈhatə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9829, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
härte is recorded at frequency rank #9,738, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛʁtə]. hatte is at rank #91, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhatə].
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 9829, this pair ranks #1,978,097 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of härte vs hatte
Shared letters: eht. Private to "härte": rä. Private to "hatte": a.
"härte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hatte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- hatte ← ahtte · hate · hatet · hhatte · htate
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "härte" and "hatte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "härte" or "hatte"?
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 "härte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hatte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,978,097 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "härte" and "hatte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hähne vs härte". 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 #1,978,097 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.