hemmenvsHummelnConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#34,161
“hemmen” frequency rank
#36,407
“Hummeln” frequency rank
70568
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hemmen Hummeln
Definition etwas hindern Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Hummel

Where the eye mixes hemmen and Hummeln

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. hemmen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Hummeln's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
hemmen
7 ch
Hummeln

Look-alike desk: hemmen vs Hummeln

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hemmen is [ˈhɛmən] while Hummeln is [ˈhʊml̩n]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70568, 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]. Hummeln is at rank #36,407, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhʊml̩n].

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 70568, this pair ranks #442,387 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hemmen vs Hummeln

Shared letters: ehmn. Private to "hemmen": -. Private to "Hummeln": lu.

"hemmen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Hummeln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hemmen ← ehmmen · hememn · hemen · hemmenn · hemmne · hhemmen · hmemen
  • Hummeln ← hhummeln · hmumeln · humeln · humemln · hummelln · hummelnn · hummenl · hummlen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "hemmen" and "Hummeln" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hemmen" is a verb and "Hummeln" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hemmen" or "Hummeln"?
"hemmen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,161 in our German list, against #36,407 for "Hummeln". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hemmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Hummeln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #442,387 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hemmen" and "Hummeln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hemer vs hemmen". 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 #442,387 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