hein vs hen, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“hein” is an intj and “hen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#687
“hein” frequency rank: #46,208
“hen” frequency rank: 46895
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	hein	hen
Definition	Dont on accompagne une interrogation ou une phrase qui exprime l’étonnement.	Poule.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hein and hen apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

hein

3 ch

hen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hein is \ɛ̃\ while hen is \ˈhɛn\. 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 (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46895, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hein is recorded at frequency rank #687, classified as anintj, pronounced \ɛ̃\. hen is at rank #46,208, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈhɛn\.

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 46895, this pair ranks #191,197 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hein vs hen

Shared letters: ehn. Private to "hein": i. Private to "hen": -.

"hein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "hen" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

hein ← ehin · heinn · heni · hhein · hien

Frequency comparison

hein#687

hen#46,208

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hein" and "hen" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hein" is an intj and "hen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "hein" or "hen"?

"hein" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #687 in our French list, against #46,208 for "hen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering hein vs hen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “hein”; for a noun, it's “hen”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hein” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable