harken
/ˈhɑːk(ə)n/
"harken" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“harken” is uncommon English (frequency #75,944 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #75,944
- frequency rank, English
- 2,646
- “H” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative spelling of hearken: to hear, to listen, to have regard.
Corpus desk
Index EN-harken · harken · English
harken · rank #75,944 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #75,944
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,646
- PHOTO-FINISH Harlingen
Nearest frequency peer: Harlingen (+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.
Long-tail ranks near “harken”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- hardstyle
hardstyle
24,059 corpus weight
- harken
harken
24,057 corpus weight
- Harlingen
Harlingen
24,056 corpus weight
- harmonium
harmonium
24,055 corpus weight
- hawt
hawt
24,054 corpus weight
- Hayato
Hayato
24,053 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “harken” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | harken |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈhɑːk(ə)n/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #75,944 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “harken” in English
Rare enough to double-check
harken is uncommon English at frequency #75,944 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈhɑːk(ə)n/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for harken in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: See hearken The correct English form is harken, spelled H-A-R-K-E-N.
Definition
- 1Alternative spelling of hearken: to hear, to listen, to have regard.
- 2To hark back, to return or revert (to a subject, etc.), to allude to, to evoke, to long or pine for (a past event or era).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how harken appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Ev'n from the depths of Hell the Damn'd advance, / Th' Infernal Manſions nodding ſeem to dance; / The gaping three-mouth'd Dog forgets to ſnarl, / The Furies harken, and their Snakes uncurl.
How, then, am I mad? Harken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story.
Etymology
See hearken
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "harken", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).