havshejWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“ha” and “hej” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,772
“ha” frequency rank
#48,213
“hej” frequency rank
49985
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ha hej
Definition Ausruf des Triumphes informelle Grußformel

Where the eye mixes ha and hej

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

2 ch
ha
3 ch
hej

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ha ([ha]) and hej ([haɪ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ha is recorded at frequency rank #1,772, classified as anintj, pronounced [ha]. hej is at rank #48,213, tagged as anintj, pronounced [haɪ].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 49985, this pair ranks #1,190,914 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ha vs hej

Shared letters: h. Private to "ha": a. Private to "hej": ej.

"ha" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "hej" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ha" and "hej" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ha] versus [haɪ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ha" or "hej"?
"ha" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,772 in our German list, against #48,213 for "hej". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list