härtevshegteWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set härte and hegte apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
härte
5 ch
hegte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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": . Private to "hegte": g.

"härte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "hegte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hegteehgte · heget · heggte · hegtte · hetge · hgete · hhegte

Frequency comparison

härte#9,738
hegte#48,210

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "härte" and "hegte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɛʁtə] versus [ˈheːktə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "härte" or "hegte"?
"härte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,738 in our German list, against #48,210 for "hegte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering härte vs hegte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “härte” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list