Which to use
“herab” and “herauf” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,672
- “herab” frequency rank
- #25,589
- “herauf” frequency rank
- 37261
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | herab | herauf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von oben nach unten (meist in einer Perspektive, in der der Betrachter unten steht) | von dort unten nach hier oben |
Where the eye mixes herab and herauf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. herab runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against herauf's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between herab and herauf
A purely visual mix-up. herab ([hɛˈʁap]) and herauf ([hɛˈʁaʊ̯f]) 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 37261, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
herab is recorded at frequency rank #11,672, classified as anadv, pronounced [hɛˈʁap]. herauf is at rank #25,589, tagged as anadv, pronounced [hɛˈʁaʊ̯f].
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 37261, this pair ranks #1,594,716 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of herab vs herauf
Shared letters: aehr. Private to "herab": b. Private to "herauf": fu.
"herab" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "herauf" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "herab" for "herauf" ever safe?
Which is more common, "herab" or "herauf"?
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 "herab" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "herauf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,594,716 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "herab" and "herauf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hera vs herauf". 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 #1,594,716 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.