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PlainSpell

hang

UK /hæŋ/verb, noun

hang is spelled H-A-N-G: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 40 times per million words in written English, the 2,487th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, hang means “To be or remain suspended” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in hang?

Letters4: H-A-N-G
Syllables1
In writing40 times per million words; the 2,487th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is hang?

Hang appears 40 times per million words in written English, the 2,487th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce hang?

  • UK /hæŋ/
  • UK [hæŋ]
  • British /haŋ/

Hang has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-hang.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with hang

Also written: hing.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with hang?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hang from its last stressed vowel (/æŋ/, British pronunciation):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of hang

  • hangs present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • hanging participle, present
  • hung participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • hanged participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does hang mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To be or remain suspended.

    The lights hung from the ceiling.

  2. 2

    To float, as if suspended.

    The smoke hung in the room.

  3. 3

    To veer in one direction.

  4. 4

    To rebound unexpectedly or unusually slowly, due to backward spin on the ball or imperfections of the ground.

  5. 5

    To hold or bear in a suspended or inclined manner or position instead of erect.

    He hung his head in shame.

  6. 6

    To cause (something) to be suspended, as from a hook, hanger, hinges, or the like.

    Hang those lights from the ceiling.

  7. 7

    To kill (someone) by suspension from the neck, usually as a form of execution or suicide.

    The culprits were hanged from the nearest tree.

  8. 8

    To be executed by suspension by one's neck from a gallows, a tree, or other raised bar, attached by a rope tied into a noose.

    You will hang for this, my friend.

noun

  1. 1

    The way in which something hangs.

    This skirt has a nice hang.

  2. 2

    A mass of hanging material.

  3. 3

    A slackening of motion.

  4. 4

    A sharp or steep declivity or slope.

  5. 5

    An instance of ceasing to respond to input.

    We sometimes get system hangs.

  6. 6

    informalA grip, understanding.

  7. 7

    colloquialA hangout.

  8. 8

    colloquialA person that someone hangs out with.

  9. 9

    IrelandderogatoryinformalCheap processed ham (cured pork), often made specially for sandwiches.

  10. 10

    colloquialThe smallest amount of concern or consideration; a damn.

    I don't give a hang.

  11. 11

    Alternative spelling of Hang (“musical instrument”).

noun

as Hang
  1. 1

    A percussion instrument invented and built by PANArt Hangbau AG, somewhat resembling a steelpan, consisting of two metal half shells with tuned notes on the top side that produces a mellow and ethereal sound.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Hang in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpendre, être suspendu (to be or remain suspended), peser, planer (to float as if suspended), baisser (to hold or bear in a suspended or inclined…)
Germanhängen (to be or remain suspended), hängte (to float as if suspended), aufhängen (to cause to be suspended)
Portugueseestar pendurado, pender, estar suspenso (to be or remain suspended), pairar (to float as if suspended), inclinar, suspender (to hold or bear in a suspended or inclined…)
Spanishcolgarse (to be or remain suspended), colgar (to cause to be suspended), ahorcar, aforcar (to execute by suspension from the neck)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does hang come from?

From Middle English hangen, hongen, from a fusion of Old English hōn (“to hang, be hanging”, transitive verb) and hangian (“to hang, cause to hang”, intransitive verb), respectively from the transitive verb Proto-West Germanic *hą̄han and the intransitive verb *hangēn; also probably influenced by Old Norse hengja (“to suspend”) and hanga (“to be suspended”); all from Proto-Germanic *hanhaną and *hangāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱenk- (“to waver, be in suspense”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after hang