Which to use
“Harz” and “Herz” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,482
- “Harz” frequency rank
- #794
- “Herz” frequency rank
- 8276
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Harz | Herz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zähflüssige, klebrige, stark duftende Absonderung von weißer bis gelbbrauner Farbe, meist aus dem Holz von Nadelbäumen | das Zentralorgan für den Blutkreislauf |
Where the eye mixes Harz and Herz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Harz with Herz
A purely visual mix-up. Harz ([haːɐ̯t͡s]) and Herz ([hɛʁt͡s]) 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 - a in “Harz” becomes e in “Herz”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8276, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Harz is recorded at frequency rank #7,482, classified as anoun, pronounced [haːɐ̯t͡s]. Herz is at rank #794, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hɛʁt͡s].
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 8276, this pair ranks #1,984,930 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Harz vs Herz
Shared letters: hrz. Private to "Harz": a. Private to "Herz": e.
"Harz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Herz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Harz" and "Herz" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Harz" or "Herz"?
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 "Harz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Herz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,984,930 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Harz" and "Herz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Harz vs haze". 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 #1,984,930 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.