HitzevshitzigWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Hitze is a noun, hitzig is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Hitze” is a noun and “hitzig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,745
“Hitze” frequency rank
#42,577
“hitzig” frequency rank
46322
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hitze hitzig
Definition hohe, als unangenehm empfundene Wärme fiebrig

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
Hitze
6 ch
hitzig

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hitze is [ˈhɪt͡sə] while hitzig is [ˈhɪt͡sɪç]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46322, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hitze is recorded at frequency rank #3,745, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɪt͡sə]. hitzig is at rank #42,577, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɪt͡sɪç].

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 46322, this pair ranks #1,323,080 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hitze vs hitzig

Shared letters: hitz. Private to "Hitze": e. Private to "hitzig": g.

"Hitze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "hitzig" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hitzehhitze · hitez · hittze · hitzze · hizte · htize · ihtze
  • hitzighhitzig · hitizg · hittzig · hitzgi · hitzigg · hitzzig · hiztig · htizig

Frequency comparison

Hitze#3,745
hitzig#42,577

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hitze" and "hitzig" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Hitze" is a noun and "hitzig" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Hitze" or "hitzig"?
"Hitze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,745 in our German list, against #42,577 for "hitzig". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Hitze vs hitzig

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Hitze”; for an adjective, it's “hitzig”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Hitze” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list