having

[ˈhavɪŋ]

/[ˈhavɪŋ]/ verb

The verdict

“having” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #43,950 in German word frequency and used as a verb.

#43,950
frequency rank, German
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Partizip Präsens (present participle) des Verbs have

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

having vs hing
67% similar
having vs Hering
50% similar
having vs hawking
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for having
PropertyValue
Headwordhaving
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈhavɪŋ]
Letters6
Frequency rank#43,950
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “having” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). having lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for having is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈhavɪŋ]. Corpus data places it at rank #43,950 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Partizip Präsens (present participle) des Verbs have".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for having, with forms such as "ahving", "haivng", and "havign". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "hing", "Hering", "hawking", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is having, spelled H-A-V-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Partizip Präsens (present participle) des Verbs have

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ahving,haivng,havign,havingg,havinng,havnig,havving,hhaving,hvaing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of having - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ahving2haivng2havign2havingg1havinng1havnig2havving1hhaving1
Edit distance from "having"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "having"?
"having" is spelled H-A-V-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈhavɪŋ].
What does "having" mean?
As a verb, "having" means: Partizip Präsens (present participle) des Verbs have
What words are commonly confused with "having"?
"having" is commonly confused with "hing", "Hering", "hawking". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "having"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "having" is [ˈhavɪŋ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "having" come from?
"having" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “having”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is H-A-V-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈhavɪŋ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “hing” - see the side-by-side comparison. having vs hing
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

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