Which to use
“herb” is an adjective and “Hexe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,757
- “herb” frequency rank
- #11,254
- “Hexe” frequency rank
- 34011
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | herb | Hexe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in der Nähe von bitter, das Gegenteil von süßlich | weibliches, bösgesinntes und dämonisches Märchen- oder Sagenwesen zumeist in Gestalt einer hässlichen, zauberkräftigen Greisin mit einem Buckel und einer langen, krummen Nase, die Schadenszauber auf den Menschen ausüben kann und mit dem Teufel durch einen Pakt oder Buhlschaft verbündet ist |
Where the eye mixes herb and Hexe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: herb vs Hexe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: herb is [hɛʁp] while Hexe is [ˈhɛksə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34011, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
herb is recorded at frequency rank #22,757, classified as anadj, pronounced [hɛʁp]. Hexe is at rank #11,254, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛksə].
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 34011, this pair ranks #1,673,008 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of herb vs Hexe
Shared letters: eh. Private to "herb": br. Private to "Hexe": x.
"herb" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Hexe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "herb" and "Hexe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "herb" or "Hexe" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "herb" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Hexe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,673,008 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "herb" and "Hexe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heel vs herb". 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 #1,673,008 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.