Which to use
“heb” and “hieb” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,700
- “heb” frequency rank
- #31,613
- “hieb” frequency rank
- 60313
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | heb | hieb |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs heben | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs hauen |
Where the eye mixes heb and hieb
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. heb runs 3 letters (CVC) against hieb's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses heb with hieb
A purely visual mix-up. heb ([heːp]) and hieb ([hiːp]) 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 60313, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
heb is recorded at frequency rank #28,700, classified as averb, pronounced [heːp]. hieb is at rank #31,613, tagged as averb, pronounced [hiːp].
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 60313, this pair ranks #791,658 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of heb vs hieb
Shared letters: beh. Private to "heb": -. Private to "hieb": i.
"heb" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hieb" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hieb ← heib · hhieb · hibe · hiebb · iheb
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "heb" and "hieb" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "heb" or "hieb" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "heb" and "hieb" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "heb" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hieb" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #791,658 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "heb" and "hieb" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heel vs hieb". 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 #791,658 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.