Which to use
“härten” and “hatten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,493
- “härten” frequency rank
- #278
- “hatten” frequency rank
- 47771
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | härten | hatten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | transitiv: | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs haben |
Where the eye mixes härten and hatten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. härten and hatten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between härten and hatten
A purely visual mix-up. härten ([ˈhɛʁtn̩]) and hatten ([ˈhatn̩]) 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 47771, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
härten is recorded at frequency rank #47,493, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛʁtn̩]. hatten is at rank #278, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhatn̩].
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 47771, this pair ranks #1,272,601 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of härten vs hatten
Shared letters: ehnt. Private to "härten": rä. Private to "hatten": a.
"härten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "hatten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hatten ← ahtten · haten · hatetn · hattenn · hattne · hhatten · htaten
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "härten" for "hatten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "härten" vs "hatten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "härten" and "hatten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "härten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hatten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,272,601 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "härten" and "hatten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "harren vs härten". 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 #1,272,601 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.