haken
German, verb
haken is spelled H-A-K-E-N (5 letters) and appears 10 times per million words in written German, the 6,780th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Haken is a German verb meaning “to hook (to attach a hook; catch with a hook; insert in a way reminiscent of a hook)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Haken is a different word: “hook (a rod bent into a curved shape)”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “festmachen, fassen”.
What does haken mean in English?
verb
- 1
to hook (to attach a hook; catch with a hook; insert in a way reminiscent of a hook)
- 2
to hook (trip or block another player with one’s hockey stick)
- 3
to stick, get stuck, get caught
Der Schlüssel hakt im Schloss.
- 4
to be an obstacle or difficulty
Du kommst nicht weiter, woran hakt es diesmal?
noun
- 1
masculinehook (a rod bent into a curved shape)
- 2
masculinehook punch
- 3
masculinea sudden sharp turn, feint
- 4
masculinecatch, hitch (a concealed difficulty, especially in a deal or negotiation)
- 5
masculinecheckmark
- 6
masculinethe canine teeth of several animals
noun
- 1
neutergerund of haken
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. geschwungen oder eckig gekrümmte Vorrichtung zum Aufhängen oder Einhaken von Objekten, meist aus Metall, Holz oder Kunststoff geformt 2. winkeliges Schriftzeichen 3. nicht offensichtliche Schwierigkeit 4. plötzliche Richtungsänderung bei fliehenden Tieren; seltener auf Menschen übertragen
verb: 1. festmachen, fassen 2. mit einem Haken pflügen 3. hängen, hängenbleiben
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of haken
- Hakens genitive
- Häkchen diminutive neuter
- Häklein diminutive neuter
- Hakerl diminutive neuter
- hakt present singular third-person
- hakte past
- gehakt participle past
- haben auxiliary
- hakend participle present
- hake first-person indicative present
- hakst indicative present second-person
- hakest second-person singular subjunctive
- haket plural second-person subjunctive
- hakten first-person indicative plural
- haktest indicative preterite second-person
- haktet indicative plural preterite
- [2] ✓, ✔, ☑ symbol
- hake! imperative singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to haken
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is haken in German?
haken appears 10 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).