Which to use
“hast” and “hatte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #165
- “hast” frequency rank
- #91
- “hatte” frequency rank
- 256
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hast | hatte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs haben | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs haben |
Where the eye mixes hast and hatte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hast with hatte
A purely visual mix-up. hast ([hast]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 256, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hast is recorded at frequency rank #165, classified as averb, pronounced [hast]. 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 256, this pair ranks #2,006,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hast vs hatte
Shared letters: aht. Private to "hast": s. Private to "hatte": e.
"hast" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "hatte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hast" and "hatte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "hast" or "hatte" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hast" 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 #2,006,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hast" and "hatte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hast vs haze". 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 #2,006,079 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.