Which to use
“Herde” and “Herpes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,505
- “Herde” frequency rank
- #29,625
- “Herpes” frequency rank
- 42130
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Herde | Herpes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gruppe von meist größeren Säugetieren der gleichen Art, die im losen oder sozialisierten Verband (mit Ausbildung einer Rangordnung) leben; Gruppen von flugunfähigen Vögeln und Gruppen verschiedener Arten kommen ebenfalls in Herden vor | durch Herpes-simplex-Viren hervorgerufene Infektion, bei der sich Bläschen an den Lippen oder den Genitalien bilden |
Where the eye mixes Herde and Herpes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Herde runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Herpes's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Herde and Herpes
A purely visual mix-up. Herde ([ˈheːɐ̯də]) and Herpes ([ˈhɛʁpɛs]) 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 42130, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Herde is recorded at frequency rank #12,505, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈheːɐ̯də]. Herpes is at rank #29,625, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛʁpɛs].
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 42130, this pair ranks #1,458,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Herde vs Herpes
Shared letters: ehr. Private to "Herde": d. Private to "Herpes": ps.
"Herde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Herpes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Herde" for "Herpes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Herde" vs "Herpes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Herde" and "Herpes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Herde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Herpes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,458,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Herde" and "Herpes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "herben vs Herpes". 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 #1,458,704 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.