Which to use
“herkommen” and “hinkommen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,253
- “herkommen” frequency rank
- #25,595
- “hinkommen” frequency rank
- 36848
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | herkommen | hinkommen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Richtung auf die sprechende Person kommen | zu einem Ort, einer Stelle gelangen |
Where the eye mixes herkommen and hinkommen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. herkommen and hinkommen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses herkommen with hinkommen
A purely visual mix-up. herkommen ([ˈheːɐ̯ˌkɔmən]) and hinkommen ([ˈhɪnˌkɔmən]) 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 36848, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
herkommen is recorded at frequency rank #11,253, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈheːɐ̯ˌkɔmən]. hinkommen is at rank #25,595, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɪnˌkɔmən].
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 36848, this pair ranks #1,605,193 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of herkommen vs hinkommen
Shared letters: ehkmno. Private to "herkommen": r. Private to "hinkommen": i.
"herkommen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "hinkommen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "herkommen" for "hinkommen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "herkommen" or "hinkommen"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "herkommen" and "hinkommen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "herkommen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hinkommen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,605,193 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "herkommen" and "hinkommen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "herkomme vs herkommen". 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 #1,605,193 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.