Which to use
“hen” and “Herz” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,162
- “hen” frequency rank
- #794
- “Herz” frequency rank
- 34956
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hen | Herz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Henne, ein weiblicher Vogel | das Zentralorgan für den Blutkreislauf |
Where the eye mixes hen and Herz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. hen runs 3 letters (CVC) against Herz's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: hen vs Herz
A purely visual mix-up. hen ([hɛn]) and Herz ([hɛʁt͡s]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34956, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hen is recorded at frequency rank #34,162, classified as anoun, pronounced [hɛn]. Herz is at rank #794, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hɛʁt͡s].
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 34956, this pair ranks #1,651,404 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hen vs Herz
Shared letters: eh. Private to "hen": n. Private to "Herz": rz.
"hen" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "Herz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Herz ← ehrz · herrz · herzz · hezr · hherz · hrez
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hen" and "Herz" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "hen" or "Herz"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Herz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,651,404 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hen" and "Herz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heel vs hen". 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 #1,651,404 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.