hetztvshütetWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“hetzt” and “hütet” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#23,563
“hetzt” frequency rank
#37,579
“hütet” frequency rank
61142
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hetzt hütet
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hetzen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hüten

Where the eye mixes hetzt and hütet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. hetzt (CVCCC) and hütet (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
hetzt
5 ch
hütet

Why the eye confuses hetzt with hütet

A purely visual mix-up. hetzt ([hɛt͡st]) and hütet ([ˈhyːtət]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61142, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hetzt is recorded at frequency rank #23,563, classified as averb, pronounced [hɛt͡st]. hütet is at rank #37,579, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhyːtət].

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 61142, this pair ranks #760,772 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hetzt vs hütet

Shared letters: eht. Private to "hetzt": z. Private to "hütet": ü.

"hetzt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "hütet" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hetzt ← ehtzt · hettz · hettzt · hetztt · hetzzt · heztt · hhetzt · htezt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "hetzt" and "hütet" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([hɛt͡st] versus [ˈhyːtət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hetzt" or "hütet"?
"hetzt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,563 in our German list, against #37,579 for "hütet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "hetzt" and "hütet" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hetzt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hütet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #760,772 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hetzt" and "hütet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Häuten vs hütet". 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 #760,772 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