helftvshellsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: helft is a verb, hells is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“helft” is a verb and “hells” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,042
“helft” frequency rank
#34,160
“hells” frequency rank
43202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature helft hells
Definition 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs helfen Plural des Substantivs hell

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set helft and hells apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
helft
5 ch
hells

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: helft is [hɛlft] while hells is [hɛlz]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

helft is recorded at frequency rank #9,042, classified as averb, pronounced [hɛlft]. hells is at rank #34,160, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hɛlz].

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 43202, this pair ranks #1,425,505 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of helft vs hells

Shared letters: ehl. Private to "helft": ft. Private to "hells": s.

"helft" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "hells" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • helftehlft · heflt · helfft · helftt · hellft · heltf · hhelft · hleft
  • hellsehlls · hellss · helsl · hhells · hlels

Frequency comparison

helft#9,042
hells#34,160

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "helft" and "hells" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "helft" is a verb and "hells" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "helft" or "hells"?
"helft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,042 in our German list, against #34,160 for "hells". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering helft vs hells

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “helft”; for a noun, it's “hells”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “helft” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list