Which to use
“hören” and “hüten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #702
- “hören” frequency rank
- #16,182
- “hüten” frequency rank
- 16884
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hören | hüten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit den Ohren | aufpassen auf, wobei meist Tiere, aber auch Kinder gemeint sind |
Where the eye mixes hören and hüten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. hören and hüten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses hören with hüten
A purely visual mix-up. hören ([ˈhøːʁən]) and hüten ([ˈhyːtn̩]) 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 16884, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hören is recorded at frequency rank #702, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhøːʁən]. hüten is at rank #16,182, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhyːtn̩].
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 16884, this pair ranks #1,932,200 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hören vs hüten
Shared letters: ehn. Private to "hören": rö. Private to "hüten": tü.
"hören" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "hüten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hören" and "hüten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "hören" or "hüten" show up more?
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 "hören" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hüten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,932,200 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hören" and "hüten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Häuten vs hüten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,932,200 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.