Which to use
“herankommen” and “herauskommen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,174
- “herankommen” frequency rank
- #20,290
- “herauskommen” frequency rank
- 58464
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | herankommen | herauskommen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich nähern, auf jemanden oder etwas zukommen | das Innere von etwas verlassen; von innen nach außen gehen |
Where the eye mixes herankommen and herauskommen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. herankommen runs 11 letters (CVCVCCVCCVC) against herauskommen's 12 (CVCVVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses herankommen with herauskommen
A purely visual mix-up. herankommen ([hɛˈʁanˌkɔmən]) and herauskommen ([hɛˈʁaʊ̯sˌkɔmən]) 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 58464, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
herankommen is recorded at frequency rank #38,174, classified as averb, pronounced [hɛˈʁanˌkɔmən]. herauskommen is at rank #20,290, tagged as averb, pronounced [hɛˈʁaʊ̯sˌkɔmən].
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 58464, this pair ranks #861,775 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of herankommen vs herauskommen
Shared letters: aehkmnor. Private to "herankommen": -. Private to "herauskommen": su.
"herankommen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC · "herauskommen" · 12 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- herankommen ← ehrankommen · hearnkommen · heraknommen · herankkommen · herankmomen · herankomemn · herankomen · herankommenn
- herauskommen ← ehrauskommen · hearuskommen · herasukommen · herauksommen · herauskkommen · herauskmomen · herauskomemn · herauskomen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "herankommen" for "herauskommen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "herankommen" or "herauskommen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "herankommen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "herauskommen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #861,775 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "herankommen" and "herauskommen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "herankommen vs heranzukommen". 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 #861,775 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.