Which to use
“härte” and “hurt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,738
- “härte” frequency rank
- #43,976
- “hurt” frequency rank
- 53714
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | härte | hurt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs härten | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs huren |
Where the eye mixes härte and hurt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. härte runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against hurt's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses härte with hurt
A purely visual mix-up. härte ([ˈhɛʁtə]) and hurt ([huːɐ̯t]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53714, 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]. hurt is at rank #43,976, tagged as averb, pronounced [huːɐ̯t].
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 53714, this pair ranks #1,047,233 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of härte vs hurt
Shared letters: hrt. Private to "härte": eä. Private to "hurt": u.
"härte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hurt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hurt ← hhurt · hrut · hurrt · hurtt · hutr · uhrt
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "härte" for "hurt" ever safe?
Frequency check: "härte" vs "hurt" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "härte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hurt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,047,233 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "härte" and "hurt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hum vs hurt". 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 #1,047,233 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.