Which to use
“head” is a noun and “heb” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,062
- “head” frequency rank
- #28,700
- “heb” frequency rank
- 39762
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | head | heb |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der Kopf | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs heben |
Where the eye mixes head and heb
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between head and heb
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: head is [hɛd] while heb is [heːp]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39762, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
head is recorded at frequency rank #11,062, classified as anoun, pronounced [hɛd]. heb is at rank #28,700, tagged as averb, pronounced [heːp].
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 39762, this pair ranks #1,527,642 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of head vs heb
Shared letters: eh. Private to "head": ad. Private to "heb": b.
"head" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "heb" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- head ← ehad · haed · headd · heda · hhead
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "head" and "heb" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "head" or "heb"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "head" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "heb" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,527,642 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "head" and "heb" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heb vs heel". 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 #1,527,642 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.