The Hague

/ðə ˈhæɡ/

//ðə ˈhæɡ// name

"the-hague" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“The Hague” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A city, the capital of South Holland, Netherlands; the administrative capital of the Netherlands.

Corpus desk

Index EN-the-hague · The Hague · English

The Hague · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for The Hague
PropertyValue
HeadwordThe Hague
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ðə ˈhæɡ/
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “The Hague” in English

The Haguefalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

The Hague is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ðə ˈhæɡ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for The Hague in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the French translation (confused with La Hague) of Dutch Den Haag, short form of 's-Gravenhage, from Middle Dutch des Graven hage (1400s), literally, "the Count's hedge[-enclosed hunting grounds]", The correct English form is The Hague, spelled T-H-E- -H-A-G-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A city, the capital of South Holland, Netherlands; the administrative capital of the Netherlands.
  2. 2
    A municipality of South Holland, Netherlands.
  3. 3
    The International Criminal Court or International Court of Justice.

Etymology

From the French translation (confused with La Hague) of Dutch Den Haag, short form of 's-Gravenhage, from Middle Dutch des Graven hage (1400s), literally, "the Count's hedge[-enclosed hunting grounds]",

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "The Hague"?
"The Hague" is spelled T-H-E- -H-A-G-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ðə ˈhæɡ/.
What does "The Hague" mean?
As a proper noun, "The Hague" means: A city, the capital of South Holland, Netherlands; the administrative capital of the Netherlands.
How do you pronounce "The Hague"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "The Hague" is /ðə ˈhæɡ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "The Hague"?
From the French translation (confused with La Hague) of Dutch Den Haag, short form of 's-Gravenhage, from Middle Dutch des Graven hage (1400s), literally, "the Count's hedge[-enclosed hunting grounds]", See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list