hemmenvsHennenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#34,161
“hemmen” frequency rank
#39,416
“Hennen” frequency rank
73577
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hemmen Hennen
Definition etwas hindern Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Henne

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hemmen and Hennen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
hemmen
6 ch
Hennen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hemmen is [ˈhɛmən] while Hennen is [ˈhɛnən]. 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 73577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hemmen is recorded at frequency rank #34,161, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛmən]. Hennen is at rank #39,416, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛnən].

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 73577, this pair ranks #356,598 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hemmen vs Hennen

Shared letters: ehn. Private to "hemmen": m. Private to "Hennen": -.

"hemmen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Hennen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hemmenehmmen · hememn · hemen · hemmenn · hemmne · hhemmen · hmemen
  • Hennenehnnen · henenn · hennenn · hennne · hhennen · hnenen

Frequency comparison

hemmen#34,161
Hennen#39,416

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hemmen" and "Hennen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hemmen" is a verb and "Hennen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hemmen" or "Hennen"?
"hemmen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,161 in our German list, against #39,416 for "Hennen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hemmen vs Hennen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hemmen”; for a noun, it's “Hennen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hemmen” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list