hebtvshieltConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,377
“hebt” frequency rank
#1,392
“hielt” frequency rank
6769
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hebt hielt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs heben 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs halten

Where the eye mixes hebt and hielt

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

4 ch
hebt
5 ch
hielt

Why the eye confuses hebt with hielt

A purely visual mix-up. hebt ([heːpt]) and hielt ([hiːlt]) 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 6769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hebt is recorded at frequency rank #5,377, classified as averb, pronounced [heːpt]. hielt is at rank #1,392, tagged as averb, pronounced [hiːlt].

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 6769, this pair ranks #1,990,504 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hebt vs hielt

Shared letters: eht. Private to "hebt": b. Private to "hielt": il.

"hebt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "hielt" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hebtehbt · hbet · hebbt · hebtt · hetb · hhebt
  • hielthhielt · hiellt · hieltt · hietl · hilet · ihelt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hebt" and "hielt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([heːpt] versus [hiːlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "hebt" vs "hielt" - which ranks higher?
"hielt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,392 in our German list, against #5,377 for "hebt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hebt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hielt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,990,504 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hebt" and "hielt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hebt 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 #1,990,504 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