Which to use
“Hirse” is a noun and “hissen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,965
- “Hirse” frequency rank
- #43,966
- “hissen” frequency rank
- 87931
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hirse | hissen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sammelbezeichnung für einige kleinfrüchtige Getreidearten aus der Familie der Süßgräser | eine Flagge oder ein Segel am Mast nach oben ziehen |
Where the eye mixes Hirse and hissen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Hirse runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against hissen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Hirse vs hissen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hirse is [ˈhɪʁzə] while hissen is [ˈhɪsn̩]. 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 87931, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hirse is recorded at frequency rank #43,965, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɪʁzə]. hissen is at rank #43,966, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɪsn̩].
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 87931, this pair ranks #74,325 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Hirse vs hissen
Shared letters: ehis. Private to "Hirse": r. Private to "hissen": n.
"Hirse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hissen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Hirse" and "hissen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Hirse" vs "hissen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hirse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hissen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,325 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hirse" and "hissen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hide vs Hirse". 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 #74,325 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.