HemdvshexWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#6,667
“Hemd” frequency rank
#35,833
“hex” frequency rank
42500
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hemd hex
Definition Teil der Oberbekleidung für den Oberkörper, vor allem für Männer 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hexen

Where the eye mixes Hemd and hex

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Hemd
3 ch
hex

Visual trap between Hemd and hex

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hemd is [hɛmt] while hex is [hɛks]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42500, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hemd is recorded at frequency rank #6,667, classified as anoun, pronounced [hɛmt]. hex is at rank #35,833, tagged as averb, pronounced [hɛks].

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 42500, this pair ranks #1,447,387 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hemd vs hex

Shared letters: eh. Private to "Hemd": dm. Private to "hex": x.

"Hemd" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "hex" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hemdehmd · hedm · hemdd · hemmd · hhemd · hmed

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hemd" and "hex" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Hemd" is a noun and "hex" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Hemd" or "hex" show up more?
"Hemd" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,667 in our German list, against #35,833 for "hex". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hemd" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hex" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,447,387 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hemd" and "hex" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heel vs hex". 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 #1,447,387 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