Which to use
“Heute” is a noun and “hüten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #127
- “Heute” frequency rank
- #16,182
- “hüten” frequency rank
- 16309
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Heute | hüten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gegenwart, die heutige Zeit (Zeit in der wir leben) | aufpassen auf, wobei meist Tiere, aber auch Kinder gemeint sind |
Where the eye mixes Heute and hüten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Heute (CVVCV) and hüten (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: Heute vs hüten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Heute is [ˈhɔɪ̯tə] while hüten is [ˈhyːtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 4 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 16309, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Heute is recorded at frequency rank #127, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɔɪ̯tə]. hüten is at rank #16,182, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhyːtn̩].
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 16309, this pair ranks #1,936,901 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Heute vs hüten
Shared letters: eht. Private to "Heute": u. Private to "hüten": nü.
"Heute" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "hüten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Heute ← ehute · hetue · heuet · heutte · hheute · huete
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Heute" and "hüten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Heute" or "hüten"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Heute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hüten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,936,901 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Heute" and "hüten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Häuten vs hüten". 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 #1,936,901 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.