HeimenvshemmenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Heimen is a noun, hemmen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Heimen” is a noun and “hemmen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,157
“Heimen” frequency rank
#34,161
“hemmen” frequency rank
68318
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Heimen hemmen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Heim etwas hindern

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Heimen and hemmen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Heimen
6 ch
hemmen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Heimen is [ˈhaɪ̯mən] while hemmen is [ˈhɛmən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “Heimen” becomes m in “hemmen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68318, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Heimen is recorded at frequency rank #34,157, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhaɪ̯mən]. hemmen is at rank #34,161, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛmən].

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 68318, this pair ranks #511,630 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Heimen vs hemmen

Shared letters: ehmn. Private to "Heimen": i. Private to "hemmen": -.

"Heimen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "hemmen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Heimenehimen · heiemn · heimenn · heimmen · heimne · hemien · hheimen · hiemen
  • hemmenehmmen · hememn · hemen · hemmenn · hemmne · hhemmen · hmemen

Frequency comparison

Heimen#34,157
hemmen#34,161

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Heimen" and "hemmen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Heimen" is a noun and "hemmen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Heimen" or "hemmen"?
"Heimen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,157 in our German list, against #34,161 for "hemmen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Heimen vs hemmen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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