Which to use
“Hertz” is a noun and “hetze” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,374
- “Hertz” frequency rank
- #9,045
- “hetze” frequency rank
- 31419
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hertz | hetze |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Maßeinheit der Frequenz; 1 Hz = 1 Schwingung pro Sekunde | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hetzen |
Where the eye mixes Hertz and hetze
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Hertz vs hetze
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hertz is [hɛʁt͡s] while hetze is [ˈhɛt͡sə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31419, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hertz is recorded at frequency rank #22,374, classified as anoun, pronounced [hɛʁt͡s]. hetze is at rank #9,045, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛt͡sə].
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 31419, this pair ranks #1,728,496 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Hertz vs hetze
Shared letters: ehtz. Private to "Hertz": r. Private to "hetze": -.
"Hertz" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "hetze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Hertz" and "hetze" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Hertz" or "hetze" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Hertz" and "hetze" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hertz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hetze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,728,496 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hertz" and "hetze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hegte vs Hertz". 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 #1,728,496 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.