Which to use
“heil” is an adjective and “hen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,208
- “heil” frequency rank
- #34,162
- “hen” frequency rank
- 38370
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | heil | hen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht zerbrochen; unversehrt; nicht verletzt | die Henne, ein weiblicher Vogel |
Where the eye mixes heil and hen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. heil runs 4 letters (CVVC) against hen's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: heil vs hen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: heil is [haɪ̯l] while hen is [hɛn]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
heil is recorded at frequency rank #4,208, classified as anadj, pronounced [haɪ̯l]. hen is at rank #34,162, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hɛn].
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 38370, this pair ranks #1,565,757 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of heil vs hen
Shared letters: eh. Private to "heil": il. Private to "hen": n.
"heil" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "hen" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- heil ← ehil · heill · hheil · hiel
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "heil" and "hen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "heil" vs "hen" - which ranks higher?
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 "heil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,565,757 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "heil" and "hen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heel vs hen". 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 #1,565,757 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.