herrschevsherrschtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,593
“herrsche” frequency rank
#3,320
“herrscht” frequency rank
35913
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature herrsche herrscht
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs herrschen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs herrschen

Where the eye mixes herrsche and herrscht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
herrsche
8 ch
herrscht

Visual trap between herrsche and herrscht

A purely visual mix-up. herrsche ([ˈhɛʁʃə]) and herrscht ([hɛʁʃt]) 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 a single letter - e in “herrsche” becomes t in “herrscht”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35913, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

herrsche is recorded at frequency rank #32,593, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛʁʃə]. herrscht is at rank #3,320, tagged as averb, pronounced [hɛʁʃt].

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 35913, this pair ranks #1,628,449 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of herrsche vs herrscht

Shared letters: cehrs. Private to "herrsche": -. Private to "herrscht": t.

"herrsche" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCCV  ·  "herrscht" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • herrscheehrrsche · herrcshe · herrscche · herrsceh · herrschhe · herrshce · herrssche · hersche
  • herrschtehrrscht · herrcsht · herrsccht · herrschht · herrschtt · herrscth · herrshct · herrsscht

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "herrsche" and "herrscht" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɛʁʃə] versus [hɛʁʃt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "herrsche" vs "herrscht" - which ranks higher?
"herrscht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,320 in our German list, against #32,593 for "herrsche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "herrsche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "herrscht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,628,449 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "herrsche" and "herrscht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "herrsche vs Herrschern". 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 #1,628,449 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