Which to use
“heimlich” and “herrlich” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,378
- “heimlich” frequency rank
- #5,184
- “herrlich” frequency rank
- 10562
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | heimlich | herrlich |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | im Verborgenen, ohne das Wissen anderer | besonders erfreulich, die Erwartungen übertreffend, wunderschön; so gut, schön oder auf andere Art positiv, dass sich kaum etwas Besseres, Schöneres oder sonst Positiveres vorstellen lässt |
Where the eye mixes heimlich and herrlich
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. heimlich (CVVCCVCC) and herrlich (CVCCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: heimlich vs herrlich
A purely visual mix-up. heimlich ([ˈhaɪ̯mlɪç]) and herrlich ([ˈhɛʁlɪç]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10562, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
heimlich is recorded at frequency rank #5,378, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhaɪ̯mlɪç]. herrlich is at rank #5,184, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɛʁlɪç].
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 10562, this pair ranks #1,974,526 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of heimlich vs herrlich
Shared letters: cehil. Private to "heimlich": m. Private to "herrlich": r.
"heimlich" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC · "herrlich" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "heimlich" for "herrlich" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "heimlich" or "herrlich" show up more?
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 "heimlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "herrlich" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,974,526 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "heimlich" and "herrlich" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "herrlich vs herrlichem". 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 #1,974,526 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.