heiligvsheiltWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#8,075
“heilig” frequency rank
#18,919
“heilt” frequency rank
26994
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature heilig heilt
Definition göttlich, verehrenswürdig, sehr fromm, geweiht 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs heilen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set heilig and heilt apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
heilig
5 ch
heilt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: heilig is [ˈhaɪ̯lɪç] while heilt is [haɪ̯lt]. 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 26994, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

heilig is recorded at frequency rank #8,075, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhaɪ̯lɪç]. heilt is at rank #18,919, tagged as averb, pronounced [haɪ̯lt].

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 26994, this pair ranks #1,808,984 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of heilig vs heilt

Shared letters: ehil. Private to "heilig": g. Private to "heilt": t.

"heilig" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "heilt" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • heiligehilig · heiilg · heilgi · heiligg · heillig · heliig · hheilig · hielig
  • heiltehilt · heillt · heiltt · heitl · helit · hheilt

Frequency comparison

heilig#8,075
heilt#18,919

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "heilig" and "heilt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "heilig" is an adjective and "heilt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "heilig" or "heilt"?
"heilig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,075 in our German list, against #18,919 for "heilt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering heilig vs heilt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “heilig”; for a verb, it's “heilt”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “heilig” 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