Which to use
“Hefe” and “Henne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,250
- “Hefe” frequency rank
- #21,286
- “Henne” frequency rank
- 40536
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hefe | Henne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einzelliger Pilz (zumeist Saccharomycetaceae aber auch Pichiaceae und Incertae sedis), der sich sexuell und/oder asexuell zumeist durch Sprossung, aber auch durch Spaltung (Schizosaccharomycetaceae), vermehrt | weiblicher Vogel (insbesondere bei Hühnern) |
Where the eye mixes Hefe and Henne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Hefe with Henne
A purely visual mix-up. Hefe ([ˈheːfə]) and Henne ([ˈhɛnə]) 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 40536, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hefe is recorded at frequency rank #19,250, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈheːfə]. Henne is at rank #21,286, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛnə].
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 40536, this pair ranks #1,505,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Hefe vs Henne
Shared letters: eh. Private to "Hefe": f. Private to "Henne": n.
"Hefe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Henne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Hefe" and "Henne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Hefe" or "Henne"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hefe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Henne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,505,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hefe" and "Henne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hähne vs Henne". 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 #1,505,618 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.