herabvsherausWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“herab” and “heraus” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,672
“herab” frequency rank
#830
“heraus” frequency rank
12502
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature herab heraus
Definition von oben nach unten (meist in einer Perspektive, in der der Betrachter unten steht) von dort drinnen nach hier außen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set herab and heraus apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
herab
6 ch
heraus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. herab ([hɛˈʁap]) and heraus ([hɛˈʁaʊ̯s]) 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 12502, 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]. heraus is at rank #830, tagged as anadv, pronounced [hɛˈʁaʊ̯s].

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 12502, this pair ranks #1,963,792 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of herab vs heraus

Shared letters: aehr. Private to "herab": b. Private to "heraus": su.

"herab" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "heraus" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • herabehrab · hearb · herabb · herba · herrab · hherab · hreab
  • herausehraus · hearus · herasu · herauss · herraus · heruas · hheraus · hreaus

Frequency comparison

herab#11,672
heraus#830

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "herab" and "heraus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([hɛˈʁap] versus [hɛˈʁaʊ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "herab" or "heraus"?
"heraus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #830 in our German list, against #11,672 for "herab". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering herab vs heraus

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “herab” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list