heiztvshetzeConfusable pair

Which to use

“heizt” and “hetze” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,169
“heizt” frequency rank
#9,045
“hetze” frequency rank
38214
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature heizt hetze
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs heizen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hetzen

Where the eye mixes heizt and hetze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. heizt (CVVCC) and hetze (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
heizt
5 ch
hetze

Why the eye confuses heizt with hetze

A purely visual mix-up. heizt ([haɪ̯t͡st]) and hetze ([ˈhɛt͡sə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38214, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

heizt is recorded at frequency rank #29,169, classified as averb, pronounced [haɪ̯t͡st]. hetze is at rank #9,045, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛt͡sə].

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 38214, this pair ranks #1,569,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of heizt vs hetze

Shared letters: ehtz. Private to "heizt": i. Private to "hetze": -.

"heizt" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "hetze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • heizt ← ehizt · heitz · heiztt · heizzt · hezit · hheizt · hiezt
  • hetze ← ehtze · hetez · hettze · hetzze · hezte · hhetze · hteze

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "heizt" and "hetze" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([haɪ̯t͡st] versus [ˈhɛt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "heizt" or "hetze"?
"hetze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,045 in our German list, against #29,169 for "heizt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "heizt" and "hetze" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "heizt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hetze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,569,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "heizt" and "hetze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Heinze vs heizt". 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 #1,569,851 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list