Which to use
“hegen” and “hegte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,977
- “hegen” frequency rank
- #48,210
- “hegte” frequency rank
- 72187
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hegen | hegte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aufmerksam schützen und versorgen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs hegen |
Where the eye mixes hegen and hegte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hegen (CVCVC) and hegte (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between hegen and hegte
A purely visual mix-up. hegen ([ˈheːɡn̩]) and hegte ([ˈheːktə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hegen is recorded at frequency rank #23,977, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈheːɡn̩]. hegte is at rank #48,210, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈheːktə].
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 72187, this pair ranks #395,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hegen vs hegte
Shared letters: egh. Private to "hegen": n. Private to "hegte": t.
"hegen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "hegte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hegen" and "hegte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "hegen" vs "hegte" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hegte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #395,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hegen" and "hegte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hegte vs Hengste". 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 #395,328 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.