Which to use
“Hein” is a name and “hex” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,601
- “Hein” frequency rank
- #35,833
- “hex” frequency rank
- 55434
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hein | hex |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | männlicher Vorname | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hexen |
Where the eye mixes Hein and hex
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Hein vs hex
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hein is [haɪ̯n] while hex is [hɛks]. 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 (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55434, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hein is recorded at frequency rank #19,601, classified as aname, pronounced [haɪ̯n]. hex is at rank #35,833, tagged as averb, pronounced [hɛks].
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 55434, this pair ranks #979,720 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Hein vs hex
Shared letters: eh. Private to "Hein": in. Private to "hex": x.
"Hein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "hex" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Hein ← ehin · heinn · heni · hhein · hien
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Hein" for "hex" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Hein" or "hex" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hein" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hex" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #979,720 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hein" and "hex" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heel vs hex". 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 #979,720 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.