my @var = ( [qw(Hund Katze Maus)], [qw(Hund Katze Ratte)], [qw(Hund Tiger Ratte)], [qw(Hund Tiger Maus)], ); my $hashref = {}; for my $arr ( @var ) { my $tmp = \$hashref; $tmp = \$$tmp->{$_} for(@$arr); $$tmp={}; } print Dumper($hashref);