Which to use
“herab” and “herum” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,672
- “herab” frequency rank
- #1,663
- “herum” frequency rank
- 13335
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | herab | herum |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von oben nach unten (meist in einer Perspektive, in der der Betrachter unten steht) | räumlich: in einem Bogen mit etwas Abstand vom Genannten um dies liegend oder führend |
Where the eye mixes herab and herum
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. herab and herum follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses herab with herum
A purely visual mix-up. herab ([hɛˈʁap]) and herum ([hɛˈʁʊm]) 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 13335, 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]. herum is at rank #1,663, tagged as anadv, pronounced [hɛˈʁʊm].
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 13335, this pair ranks #1,958,647 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of herab vs herum
Shared letters: ehr. Private to "herab": ab. Private to "herum": mu.
"herab" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "herum" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "herab" for "herum" ever safe?
Frequency check: "herab" vs "herum" - which ranks higher?
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 "herab" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "herum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,958,647 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "herab" and "herum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "herum vs hum". 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 #1,958,647 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.