Which to use
“hésiter” and “heurter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,722
- “hésiter” frequency rank
- #18,768
- “heurter” frequency rank
- 27490
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hésiter | heurter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Être incertain, indécis sur le parti, sur la résolution que l’on doit prendre. | Entrer brusquement en contact. |
Where the eye mixes hésiter and heurter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hésiter (CVCVCVC) and heurter (CVVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: hésiter vs heurter
A purely visual mix-up. hésiter (^((h muet))\e.zi.te\) and heurter (^((h aspiré))\œʁ.te\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27490, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hésiter is recorded at frequency rank #8,722, classified as averb, pronounced ^((h muet))\e.zi.te\. heurter is at rank #18,768, tagged as averb, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\œʁ.te\.
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 27490, this pair ranks #328,636 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hésiter vs heurter
Shared letters: ehrt. Private to "hésiter": isé. Private to "heurter": u.
"hésiter" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "heurter" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- heurter ← ehurter · heruter · heuretr · heurrter · heurterr · heurtre · heurtter · heutrer
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hésiter" for "heurter" ever safe?
Frequency check: "hésiter" vs "heurter" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hésiter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "heurter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #328,636 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hésiter" and "heurter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heurt vs heurter". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #328,636 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.