HilfenvshilfstWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Hilfen is a noun, hilfst is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Hilfen” is a noun and “hilfst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,255
“Hilfen” frequency rank
#26,913
“hilfst” frequency rank
38168
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hilfen hilfst
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Hilfe 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs helfen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Hilfen and hilfst apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Hilfen
6 ch
hilfst

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hilfen is [ˈhɪlfn̩] while hilfst is [hɪlfst]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 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 38168, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hilfen is recorded at frequency rank #11,255, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɪlfn̩]. 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 38168, this pair ranks #1,571,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Hilfen vs hilfst

Shared letters: fhil. Private to "Hilfen": en. Private to "hilfst": st.

"Hilfen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "hilfst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hilfenhhilfen · hiflen · hilefn · hilfenn · hilffen · hilfne · hillfen · hlifen
  • hilfsthhilfst · hiflst · hilffst · hilfsst · hilfstt · hilfts · hillfst · hilsft

Frequency comparison

Hilfen#11,255
hilfst#26,913

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hilfen" and "hilfst" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Hilfen" is a noun and "hilfst" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Hilfen" or "hilfst"?
"Hilfen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,255 in our German list, against #26,913 for "hilfst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Hilfen vs hilfst

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Hilfen”; for a verb, it's “hilfst”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Hilfen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list