heiklenvsheilenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: heiklen is a adjective, heilen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“heiklen” is an adjective and “heilen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,882
“heiklen” frequency rank
#7,930
“heilen” frequency rank
49812
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature heiklen heilen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs heikel jemanden gesund machen, eine Krankheit, ein Leiden beseitigen, heil machen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set heiklen and heilen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
heiklen
6 ch
heilen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: heiklen is [ˈhaɪ̯klən] while heilen is [ˈhaɪ̯lən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49812, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

heiklen is recorded at frequency rank #41,882, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhaɪ̯klən]. heilen is at rank #7,930, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhaɪ̯lən].

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 49812, this pair ranks #1,197,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of heiklen vs heilen

Shared letters: ehiln. Private to "heiklen": k. Private to "heilen": -.

"heiklen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "heilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • heiklenehiklen · heikeln · heikklen · heiklenn · heikllen · heiklne · heilken · hekilen
  • heilenehilen · heieln · heilenn · heillen · heilne · helien · hheilen · hielen

Frequency comparison

heiklen#41,882
heilen#7,930

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "heiklen" and "heilen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "heiklen" is an adjective and "heilen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "heiklen" or "heilen"?
"heilen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,930 in our German list, against #41,882 for "heiklen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering heiklen vs heilen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “heiklen”; for a verb, it's “heilen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “heiklen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list