Which to use
“härte” and “hörte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,738
- “härte” frequency rank
- #3,195
- “hörte” frequency rank
- 12933
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | härte | hörte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs härten | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs hören |
Where the eye mixes härte and hörte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. härte and hörte follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses härte with hörte
A purely visual mix-up. härte ([ˈhɛʁtə]) and hörte ([ˈhøːɐ̯tə]) 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 a single letter - ä in “härte” becomes ö in “hörte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12933, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
härte is recorded at frequency rank #9,738, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛʁtə]. hörte is at rank #3,195, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhøːɐ̯tə].
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 12933, this pair ranks #1,961,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of härte vs hörte
Shared letters: ehrt. Private to "härte": ä. Private to "hörte": ö.
"härte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hörte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "härte" and "hörte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "härte" or "hörte" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "härte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hörte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,961,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "härte" and "hörte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hähne vs härte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,961,136 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.