Which to use
“helfe” and “hilft” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,563
- “helfe” frequency rank
- #994
- “hilft” frequency rank
- 10557
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | helfe | hilft |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs helfen | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs helfen |
Where the eye mixes helfe and hilft
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between helfe and hilft
A purely visual mix-up. helfe ([ˈhɛlfə]) and hilft ([hɪlft]) 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 10557, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
helfe is recorded at frequency rank #9,563, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛlfə]. hilft is at rank #994, tagged as averb, pronounced [hɪlft].
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 10557, this pair ranks #1,974,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of helfe vs hilft
Shared letters: fhl. Private to "helfe": e. Private to "hilft": it.
"helfe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hilft" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "helfe" for "hilft" ever safe?
Frequency check: "helfe" vs "hilft" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "helfe" and "hilft" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "helfe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hilft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,974,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "helfe" and "hilft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hegte vs helfe". 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 #1,974,554 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.