hang
/ˈhæŋ/
"hang" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hang” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,487. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #2,487
- frequency rank, English
- 2,646
- “H” headwords
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - To be or remain suspended.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hang · hang · English
hang · rank #2,487 · 6 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #2,487
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 6 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,646
- PHOTO-FINISH goods
Nearest frequency peer: goods (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “hang”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- facility
facility
97,517 corpus weight
- fields
fields
97,516 corpus weight
- goods
goods
97,515 corpus weight
- hang
hang
97,514 corpus weight
- holds
holds
97,513 corpus weight
- info
info
97,512 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “hang” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hang |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈhæŋ/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #2,487 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hang” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 6 spelling variants around hang (IPA /ˈhæŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,487 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 21 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for hang, with forms such as "ahng", "hagn", and "hangg". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "HG", "hn", "has", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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 v… The correct English form is hang, spelled H-A-N-G.
Definition
- 1To be or remain suspended.
- 2To float, as if suspended.
- 3To veer in one direction.
- 4To rebound unexpectedly or unusually slowly, due to backward spin on the ball or imperfections of the ground.
- 5To hold or bear in a suspended or inclined manner or position instead of erect.
- 6To cause (something) to be suspended, as from a hook, hanger, hinges, or the like.
- 7To kill (someone) by suspension from the neck, usually as a form of execution or suicide.
- 8To 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.
- 9(used in maledictions) To damn.
- 10To loiter; to hang around; to spend time idly.
- 11To exhibit (an object) by hanging.
- 12To apply (wallpaper or drywall to a wall).
- 13To decorate (something) with hanging objects.
- 14To remain persistently in one's thoughts.
- 15To prevent from reaching a decision, especially by refusing to join in a verdict that must be unanimous.
- 16To stop responding to manual input devices such as the keyboard and mouse.
- 17To cause (a program or computer) to stop responding.
- 18To cause (a piece) to become vulnerable to capture.
- 19To be vulnerable to capture.
- 20To throw a hittable off-speed pitch.
- 21To attach or cause to stick (a charge or accusation, etc.).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hang appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The lights hung from the ceiling.
On the dark-green walls hung a series of eight engravings, portraits of early Victorian belles, clad in lace and tarletan ball dresses, clipped from an old Book of Beauty. Mrs. Bunting was very fond of these pictures; she thought they gave the drawing-room a note of elegance and refinement.
Etymology
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”). See also Dutch hangen, Low German hangen and hängen, German hängen, Norwegian Bokmål henge, Norwegian Nynorsk henga; also Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (hāhan), Hittite 𒂵𒀀𒀭𒂵 (/kānk-/, “to hang”), Sanskrit शङ्कते (śáṅkate, “is in doubt, hesitates”), Latin cūnctārī (“to delay”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ahng
- hagn
- hangg
- hanng
- hhang
- hnag
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hang - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hang", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).
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.