Which to use
“helfen” and “holen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #569
- “helfen” frequency rank
- #1,328
- “holen” frequency rank
- 1897
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | helfen | holen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (mit Dativ, seltener mit Akkusativ) jemandem das Tun einer Sache durch Übernehmen bestimmter Teile oder einen Ratschlag ermöglichen oder erleichtern | etwas oder jemanden herbeischaffen |
Where the eye mixes helfen and holen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between helfen and holen
A purely visual mix-up. helfen ([ˈhɛlfn̩]) and holen ([ˈhoːlən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1897, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
helfen is recorded at frequency rank #569, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛlfn̩]. holen is at rank #1,328, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhoːlən].
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 1897, this pair ranks #2,003,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of helfen vs holen
Shared letters: ehln. Private to "helfen": f. Private to "holen": o.
"helfen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "holen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "helfen" and "holen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "helfen" or "holen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "helfen" and "holen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "helfen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "holen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,003,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "helfen" and "holen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hola vs holen". 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 #2,003,510 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.