heivshörWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hei is a intj, hör is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hei” is an intj and “hör” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,652
“hei” frequency rank
#2,601
“hör” frequency rank
18253
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hei hör
Definition Ausruf der Freude, Begeisterung oder Verwunderung 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hören

Where the eye mixes hei and hör

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
hei
3 ch
hör

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hei is [haɪ̯] while hör is [høːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hei is recorded at frequency rank #15,652, classified as anintj, pronounced [haɪ̯]. hör is at rank #2,601, tagged as averb, pronounced [høːɐ̯].

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 18253, this pair ranks #1,920,000 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hei vs hör

Shared letters: h. Private to "hei": ei. Private to "hör": .

"hei" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "hör" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hei" and "hör" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hei" is an intj and "hör" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hei" or "hör"?
"hör" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,601 in our German list, against #15,652 for "hei". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list