helftvsholstConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#9,042
“helft” frequency rank
#16,732
“holst” frequency rank
25774
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature helft holst
Definition 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs helfen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs holen

Where the eye mixes helft and holst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
helft
5 ch
holst

Visual trap between helft and holst

A purely visual mix-up. helft ([hɛlft]) and holst ([hoːlst]) 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 25774, 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]. holst is at rank #16,732, tagged as averb, pronounced [hoːlst].

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 25774, this pair ranks #1,828,166 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of helft vs holst

Shared letters: hlt. Private to "helft": ef. Private to "holst": os.

"helft" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "holst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • helftehlft · heflt · helfft · helftt · hellft · heltf · hhelft · hleft
  • holsthholst · hlost · hollst · holsst · holstt · holts · hoslt · ohlst

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "helft" and "holst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([hɛlft] versus [hoːlst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "helft" or "holst"?
"helft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,042 in our German list, against #16,732 for "holst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "helft" and "holst" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "helft" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "holst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,828,166 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "helft" and "holst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "holst vs Homs". 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 #1,828,166 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