BauherrvsBauherrenTell them apart

Which to use

“Bauherr” and “Bauherren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#22,642
“Bauherr” frequency rank
#21,177
“Bauherren” frequency rank
43819
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Bauherr Bauherren
Definition Person oder Instanz, die ein Bauvorhaben in Auftrag gegeben hat Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Bauherr

Where the eye mixes Bauherr and Bauherren

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Bauherr runs 7 letters (CVVCVCC) against Bauherren's 9 (CVVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Bauherr
9 ch
Bauherren

Why the eye confuses Bauherr with Bauherren

A purely visual mix-up. Bauherr ([ˈbaʊ̯ˌhɛʁ]) and Bauherren ([ˈbaʊ̯ˌhɛʁən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Bauherr” sits inside “Bauherren”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43819, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Bauherr is recorded at frequency rank #22,642, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbaʊ̯ˌhɛʁ]. Bauherren is at rank #21,177, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbaʊ̯ˌhɛʁən].

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 43819, this pair ranks #1,405,929 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Bauherr vs Bauherren

Shared letters: abehru. Private to "Bauherr": -. Private to "Bauherren": n.

"Bauherr" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC  ·  "Bauherren" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Bauherrabuherr · bahuerr · bauehrr · bauher · bauhherr · bauhrer · bbauherr · buaherr
  • Bauherrenabuherren · bahuerren · bauehrren · bauheren · bauherern · bauherrenn · bauherrne · bauhherren

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Bauherr" for "Bauherren" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbaʊ̯ˌhɛʁ] versus [ˈbaʊ̯ˌhɛʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Bauherr" or "Bauherren"?
"Bauherren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,177 in our German list, against #22,642 for "Bauherr". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Bauherr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Bauherren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,405,929 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Bauherr" and "Bauherren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bauers vs Bauherr". 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 #1,405,929 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list