hinterlassevshinterlässtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,172
“hinterlasse” frequency rank
#10,301
“hinterlässt” frequency rank
44473
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hinterlasse hinterlässt
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hinterlassen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hinterlassen

Where the eye mixes hinterlasse and hinterlässt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. hinterlasse (CVCCVCCVCCV) and hinterlässt (CVCCVCCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

11 ch
hinterlasse
11 ch
hinterlässt

Look-alike desk: hinterlasse vs hinterlässt

A purely visual mix-up. hinterlasse ([ˌhɪntɐˈlasə]) and hinterlässt ([ˌhɪntɐˈlɛst]) 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 44473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hinterlasse is recorded at frequency rank #34,172, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌhɪntɐˈlasə]. hinterlässt is at rank #10,301, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌhɪntɐˈlɛst].

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 44473, this pair ranks #1,385,084 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hinterlasse vs hinterlässt

Shared letters: ehilnrst. Private to "hinterlasse": a. Private to "hinterlässt": ä.

"hinterlasse" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCV  ·  "hinterlässt" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hinterlasse ← hhinterlasse · hinetrlasse · hinnterlasse · hintelrasse · hinteralsse · hinterlase · hinterlases · hinterlaße

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hinterlasse" and "hinterlässt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌhɪntɐˈlasə] versus [ˌhɪntɐˈlɛst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "hinterlasse" or "hinterlässt" show up more?
"hinterlässt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,301 in our German list, against #34,172 for "hinterlasse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "hinterlasse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hinterlässt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,385,084 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hinterlasse" and "hinterlässt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hinterlasse vs hinterlassen". 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 #1,385,084 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