Which to use
“Hilfe” is a noun and “hilfst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #490
- “Hilfe” frequency rank
- #26,913
- “hilfst” frequency rank
- 27403
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hilfe | hilfst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aktive Unterstützung | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs helfen |
Where the eye mixes Hilfe and hilfst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Hilfe runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against hilfst's 6 (CVCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Hilfe and hilfst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hilfe is [ˈhɪlfə] while hilfst is [hɪlfst]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27403, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hilfe is recorded at frequency rank #490, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɪlfə]. hilfst is at rank #26,913, tagged as averb, pronounced [hɪlfst].
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 27403, this pair ranks #1,802,334 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Hilfe vs hilfst
Shared letters: fhil. Private to "Hilfe": e. Private to "hilfst": st.
"Hilfe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hilfst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Hilfe" and "hilfst" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Hilfe" vs "hilfst" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hilfe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hilfst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,802,334 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hilfe" and "hilfst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hilfst vs hoffst". 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 #1,802,334 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.