Which to use
“heraus” and “hierauf” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #830
- “heraus” frequency rank
- #18,925
- “hierauf” frequency rank
- 19755
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | heraus | hierauf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von dort drinnen nach hier außen | auf etwas hinweisend, das man jemandem zeigt oder zuvor erwähnt hat |
Where the eye mixes heraus and hierauf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. heraus runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against hierauf's 7 (CVVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: heraus vs hierauf
A purely visual mix-up. heraus ([hɛˈʁaʊ̯s]) and hierauf ([hiːˈʁaʊ̯f]) 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 19755, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
heraus is recorded at frequency rank #830, classified as anadv, pronounced [hɛˈʁaʊ̯s]. hierauf is at rank #18,925, tagged as anadv, pronounced [hiːˈʁaʊ̯f].
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 19755, this pair ranks #1,904,927 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of heraus vs hierauf
Shared letters: aehru. Private to "heraus": s. Private to "hierauf": fi.
"heraus" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "hierauf" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "heraus" for "hierauf" ever safe?
Frequency check: "heraus" vs "hierauf" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "heraus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hierauf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,904,927 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "heraus" and "hierauf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hieran vs hierauf". 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 #1,904,927 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.