HexenvsHexerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,895
“Hexen” frequency rank
#45,347
“Hexer” frequency rank
57242
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hexen Hexer
Definition ein Alken mit sechs Kohlenstoffatomen und zwölf Wasserstoffatomen männliche Hexe

Where the eye mixes Hexen and Hexer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Hexen
5 ch
Hexer

Visual trap between Hexen and Hexer

A purely visual mix-up. Hexen ([hɛˈkseːn]) and Hexer ([ˈhɛksɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “Hexen” becomes r in “Hexer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57242, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hexen is recorded at frequency rank #11,895, classified as anoun, pronounced [hɛˈkseːn]. Hexer is at rank #45,347, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛksɐ].

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 57242, this pair ranks #908,960 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hexen vs Hexer

Shared letters: ehx. Private to "Hexen": n. Private to "Hexer": r.

"Hexen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Hexer" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hexenehxen · heexn · hexenn · hexne · hexxen · hhexen · hxeen
  • Hexerehxer · heexr · hexerr · hexre · hexxer · hhexer · hxeer

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Hexen" and "Hexer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([hɛˈkseːn] versus [ˈhɛksɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Hexen" vs "Hexer" - which ranks higher?
"Hexen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,895 in our German list, against #45,347 for "Hexer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Hexen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Hexer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #908,960 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hexen" and "Hexer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hemer vs Hexer". 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 #908,960 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