HerrnvsHertzWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,699
“Herrn” frequency rank
#22,374
“Hertz” frequency rank
24073
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Herrn Hertz
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Herr Maßeinheit der Frequenz; 1 Hz = 1 Schwingung pro Sekunde

Where the eye mixes Herrn and Hertz

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Herrn
5 ch
Hertz

Look-alike desk: Herrn vs Hertz

A purely visual mix-up. Herrn ([hɛʁn]) and Hertz ([hɛʁt͡s]) 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 24073, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Herrn is recorded at frequency rank #1,699, classified as anoun, pronounced [hɛʁn]. Hertz is at rank #22,374, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hɛʁt͡s].

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 24073, this pair ranks #1,852,727 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Herrn vs Hertz

Shared letters: ehr. Private to "Herrn": n. Private to "Hertz": tz.

"Herrn" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Hertz" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Herrnehrrn · hern · hernr · herrnn · hherrn · hrern
  • Hertzehrtz · herrtz · herttz · hertzz · herzt · hetrz · hhertz · hretz

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Herrn" for "Hertz" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([hɛʁn] versus [hɛʁt͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Herrn" or "Hertz" show up more?
"Herrn" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,699 in our German list, against #22,374 for "Hertz". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Herrn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Hertz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,852,727 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Herrn" and "Hertz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hegte vs Hertz". 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 #1,852,727 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list