HausevsHirseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#582
“Hause” frequency rank
#43,965
“Hirse” frequency rank
44547
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hause Hirse
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Haus Sammelbezeichnung für einige kleinfrüchtige Getreidearten aus der Familie der Süßgräser

Where the eye mixes Hause and Hirse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Hause (CVVCV) and Hirse (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Hause
5 ch
Hirse

Look-alike desk: Hause vs Hirse

A purely visual mix-up. Hause ([ˈhaʊ̯zə]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44547, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hause is recorded at frequency rank #582, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhaʊ̯zə]. 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 44547, this pair ranks #1,382,661 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hause vs Hirse

Shared letters: ehs. Private to "Hause": au. Private to "Hirse": ir.

"Hause" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "Hirse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hause ← ahuse · hasue · haues · hausse · hhause · huase
  • Hirse ← hhirse · hirrse · hirsse · hisre · hrise

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hause" and "Hirse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhaʊ̯zə] versus [ˈhɪʁzə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Hause" or "Hirse"?
"Hause" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #582 in our German list, against #43,965 for "Hirse". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hause" 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 #1,382,661 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hause" 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 #1,382,661 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