Which to use
“Herr” and “Herrn” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #489
- “Herr” frequency rank
- #1,699
- “Herrn” frequency rank
- 2188
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Herr | Herrn |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | höfliche Bezeichnung für einen Mann | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Herr |
Where the eye mixes Herr and Herrn
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Herr with Herrn
A purely visual mix-up. Herr ([hɛʁ]) and Herrn ([hɛʁn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Herr” sits inside “Herrn”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Herr is recorded at frequency rank #489, classified as anoun, pronounced [hɛʁ]. Herrn is at rank #1,699, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hɛʁn].
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 2188, this pair ranks #2,002,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Herr vs Herrn
Shared letters: ehr. Private to "Herr": -. Private to "Herrn": n.
"Herr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Herrn" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Herr" for "Herrn" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Herr" vs "Herrn" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Herr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Herrn" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,002,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Herr" and "Herrn" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "harren vs Herrn". 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 #2,002,906 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.