helftvshemmtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#9,042
“helft” frequency rank
#31,607
“hemmt” frequency rank
40649
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature helft hemmt
Definition 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs helfen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hemmen

Where the eye mixes helft and hemmt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. helft and hemmt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
helft
5 ch
hemmt

Visual trap between helft and hemmt

A purely visual mix-up. helft ([hɛlft]) and hemmt ([hɛmt]) 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 40649, 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]. hemmt is at rank #31,607, tagged as averb, pronounced [hɛmt].

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 40649, this pair ranks #1,502,364 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of helft vs hemmt

Shared letters: eht. Private to "helft": fl. Private to "hemmt": m.

"helft" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "hemmt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • helft ← ehlft · heflt · helfft · helftt · hellft · heltf · hhelft · hleft
  • hemmt ← ehmmt · hemmtt · hemt · hemtm · hhemmt · hmemt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "helft" for "hemmt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([hɛlft] versus [hɛmt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "helft" or "hemmt"?
"helft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,042 in our German list, against #31,607 for "hemmt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "helft" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hemmt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,502,364 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "helft" and "hemmt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hemer vs hemmt". 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 #1,502,364 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