HasevsHirseTell them apart

Which to use

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

#10,295
“Hase” frequency rank
#43,965
“Hirse” frequency rank
54260
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hase Hirse
Definition Säugetier mit langen Ohren aus der Gattung Lepus, speziell der Feldhase Sammelbezeichnung für einige kleinfrüchtige Getreidearten aus der Familie der Süßgräser

Where the eye mixes Hase and Hirse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Hase runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Hirse's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
Hase
5 ch
Hirse

Why the eye confuses Hase with Hirse

A purely visual mix-up. Hase ([ˈhaːzə]) and Hirse ([ˈhɪʁzə]) 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 54260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hase is recorded at frequency rank #10,295, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhaːzə]. Hirse is at rank #43,965, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɪʁzə].

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 54260, this pair ranks #1,025,754 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hase vs Hirse

Shared letters: ehs. Private to "Hase": a. Private to "Hirse": ir.

"Hase" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Hirse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hase ← ahse · haes · hhase · hsae
  • Hirse ← hhirse · hirrse · hirsse · hisre · hrise

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Hase" for "Hirse" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhaːzə] versus [ˈhɪʁzə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Hase" vs "Hirse" - which ranks higher?
"Hase" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,295 in our German list, against #43,965 for "Hirse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Hase" and "Hirse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hase" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Hirse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,025,754 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hase" and "Hirse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hide vs Hirse". 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 #1,025,754 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list