Which to use
“he's” is an abbrev and “hen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,620
- “he's” frequency rank
- #34,162
- “hen” frequency rank
- 63782
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | he's | hen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | he is: er ist | die Henne, ein weiblicher Vogel |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set he's and hen apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: he's is anabbrev and henanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
he's is recorded at frequency rank #29,620, classified as anabbrev, pronounced […]. hen is at rank #34,162, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hɛn].
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 63782, this pair ranks #664,551 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of he's vs hen
Shared letters: eh. Private to "he's": s. Private to "hen": n.
"he's" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hen" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "he's" and "hen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "he's" or "hen"?
Remembering he's vs hen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an abbrev, it's “he's”; for a noun, it's “hen”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “he's” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable