Which to use
“härte” and “hegte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,738
- “härte” frequency rank
- #48,210
- “hegte” frequency rank
- 57948
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | härte | hegte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs härten | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs hegen |
Where the eye mixes härte and hegte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. härte and hegte follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses härte with hegte
A purely visual mix-up. härte ([ˈhɛʁtə]) and hegte ([ˈheːktə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57948, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
härte is recorded at frequency rank #9,738, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛʁtə]. hegte is at rank #48,210, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈheːktə].
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 57948, this pair ranks #881,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of härte vs hegte
Shared letters: eht. Private to "härte": rä. Private to "hegte": g.
"härte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hegte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- hegte ← ehgte · heget · heggte · hegtte · hetge · hgete · hhegte
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "härte" for "hegte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "härte" vs "hegte" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "härte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hegte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #881,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "härte" and "hegte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hegte vs Hengste". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #881,575 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.