Which to use
“hel” and “hus” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,474
- “hel” frequency rank
- #35,244
- “hus” frequency rank
- 82718
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hel | hus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Helium | Haus |
Where the eye mixes hel and hus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. hel and hus follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between hel and hus
A purely visual mix-up. hel ([xɛl]) and hus ([huːˀs]) 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 82718, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hel is recorded at frequency rank #47,474, classified as anoun, pronounced [xɛl]. hus is at rank #35,244, tagged as anoun, pronounced [huːˀs].
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 82718, this pair ranks #152,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hel vs hus
Shared letters: h. Private to "hel": el. Private to "hus": su.
"hel" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hus" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hel" and "hus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "hel" or "hus" show up more?
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 "hel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #152,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hel" and "hus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heel vs hel". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #152,282 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.