herausvshinausWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#830
“heraus” frequency rank
#750
“hinaus” frequency rank
1580
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature heraus hinaus
Definition von dort drinnen nach hier außen die Richtung beschreibend, die das Umfeld verlässt

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
heraus
6 ch
hinaus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. heraus ([hɛˈʁaʊ̯s]) and hinaus ([hɪˈnaʊ̯s]) 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 1580, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

heraus is recorded at frequency rank #830, classified as anadv, pronounced [hɛˈʁaʊ̯s]. hinaus is at rank #750, tagged as anadv, pronounced [hɪˈnaʊ̯s].

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 1580, this pair ranks #2,004,077 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of heraus vs hinaus

Shared letters: ahsu. Private to "heraus": er. Private to "hinaus": in.

"heraus" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "hinaus" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • herausehraus · hearus · herasu · herauss · herraus · heruas · hheraus · hreaus
  • hinaushhinaus · hianus · hinasu · hinauss · hinnaus · hinuas · hniaus · ihnaus

Frequency comparison

heraus#830
hinaus#750

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "heraus" and "hinaus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([hɛˈʁaʊ̯s] versus [hɪˈnaʊ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "heraus" or "hinaus"?
"hinaus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #750 in our German list, against #830 for "heraus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering heraus vs hinaus

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 “heraus” 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