heißen

\ˈhaɪ̯.sən\

/\ˈhaɪ̯.sən\/ verb

The verdict

“heißen” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - S’appeler, se nommer (Avoir pour nom).

Corpus desk

Index FR-hei-en · heißen · French

heißen · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for heißen
PropertyValue
Headwordheißen
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ˈhaɪ̯.sən\
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « heißen » en français

heißenreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

heißen is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \ˈhaɪ̯.sən\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for heißen, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is heißen, spelled H-E-I-S-S-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    S’appeler, se nommer (Avoir pour nom).
  2. 2
    Dire.
  3. 3
    S’agir.
  4. 4
    Appeler, nommer, qualifier, traiter.
  5. 5
    Signifier, vouloir dire.
  6. 6
    Ordonner, commander.
  7. 7
    (Utilisé uniquement dans les locutions figées) Souhaiter.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how heißen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Ich heiße Klaus.
  2. Wie heißt du? — Ich heiße Markus.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "heißen"?
"heißen" is spelled H-E-I-SS-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈhaɪ̯.sən\.
What does "heißen" mean?
As a verb, "heißen" means: S’appeler, se nommer (Avoir pour nom).
How do you pronounce "heißen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "heißen" is \ˈhaɪ̯.sən\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "heißen" come from?
"heißen" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list