heil

/haɪl/

//haɪl// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"heil" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“heil” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #38,882) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#38,882
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To greet with a Sieg Heil.

Corpus desk

Index EN-heil · heil · English

heil · rank #38,882 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,882
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH headstone

Nearest frequency peer: headstone (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “heil”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “heil” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

heil vs hi
50% similar
heil vs his
50% similar
heil vs her
50% similar

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

Key facts for heil
PropertyValue
Headwordheil
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/haɪl/
Letters4
Frequency rank#38,882
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “heil”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “headstone” (#38,881), “hatcher” (#38,880), “heterogeneity” (#38,884). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “heil” is #38,882. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for heil is neighbouring look-alikes ("hi", "his", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /haɪl/. Frequency #38,882 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Gloss: "To greet with a Sieg Heil.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for heil, with forms such as "ehil", "heill", and "hheil". 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, "hi", "his", "her", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Heil. Doublet of whole, hail, and hale. The correct English form is heil, spelled H-E-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    To greet with a Sieg Heil.

Etymology

Borrowed from German Heil. Doublet of whole, hail, and hale.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehil
  • heill
  • hheil
  • hiel

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of heil - 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.

ehil2heill1hheil1hiel2
Edit distance from "heil"

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "heil"?
"heil" is spelled H-E-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /haɪl/.
What does "heil" mean?
As a verb, "heil" means: To greet with a Sieg Heil.
What words are commonly confused with "heil"?
"heil" is commonly confused with "hi", "his", "her". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "heil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "heil" is /haɪl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "heil"?
Borrowed from German Heil. Doublet of whole, hail, and hale. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "heil", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

H1N1#38,874hows#38,890hwan#38,891icky#38,895

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list