HauevsHäutenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,165
“Haue” frequency rank
#48,238
“Häuten” frequency rank
77403
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Haue Häuten
Definition Prügel, Hiebe Tötung durch Entfernen der Haut

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Haue and Häuten apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Haue
6 ch
Häuten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Haue ([ˈhaʊ̯ə]) and Häuten ([ˈhɔɪ̯tn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77403, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Haue is recorded at frequency rank #29,165, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhaʊ̯ə]. Häuten is at rank #48,238, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɔɪ̯tn̩].

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 77403, this pair ranks #261,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Haue vs Häuten

Shared letters: ehu. Private to "Haue": a. Private to "Häuten": ntä.

"Haue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "Häuten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Haueahue · haeu · hhaue · huae

Frequency comparison

Haue#29,165
Häuten#48,238

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Haue" and "Häuten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhaʊ̯ə] versus [ˈhɔɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Haue" or "Häuten"?
"Haue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,165 in our German list, against #48,238 for "Häuten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Haue vs Häuten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Haue” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list