heist

[haɪst]

/[haɪst]/ noun

The verdict

“heist” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #27,343 in German word frequency and used as a noun.

#27,343
frequency rank, German
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - gewaltsame Wegnahme fremden Eigentums, meist als bewaffneter Überfall auf eine Bank oder einen Laden: Raub, Diebstahl

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

heist vs Hit
40% similar
heist vs His
40% similar
heist vs het
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for heist
PropertyValue
Headwordheist
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[haɪst]
Letters5
Frequency rank#27,343
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “heist” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). heist lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for heist is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [haɪst]. Corpus data places it at rank #27,343 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "gewaltsame Wegnahme fremden Eigentums, meist als bewaffneter Überfall auf eine Bank oder einen Laden: Raub, Diebstahl".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for heist, with forms such as "ehist", "heisst", and "heistt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Hit", "His", "het", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is heist, spelled H-E-I-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    gewaltsame Wegnahme fremden Eigentums, meist als bewaffneter Überfall auf eine Bank oder einen Laden: Raub, Diebstahl

Synonyms

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ehist,heisst,heistt,heits,hesit,hheist,hiest

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of heist - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ehist2heisst1heistt1heits2hesit2hheist1hiest2
Edit distance from "heist"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "heist"?
"heist" is spelled H-E-I-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is [haɪst].
What does "heist" mean?
As a noun, "heist" means: gewaltsame Wegnahme fremden Eigentums, meist als bewaffneter Überfall auf eine Bank oder einen Laden: Raub, Diebstahl
What words are commonly confused with "heist"?
"heist" is commonly confused with "Hit", "His", "het". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "heist"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "heist" is [haɪst]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "heist" come from?
"heist" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “heist”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is H-E-I-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [haɪst] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Hit” - see the side-by-side comparison. heist vs Hit
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list