Which to use
“herrschen” is a verb and “herrschende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,044
- “herrschen” frequency rank
- #23,561
- “herrschende” frequency rank
- 32605
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | herrschen | herrschende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Macht über jemand oder etwas ausüben | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs herrschend |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set herrschen and herrschende apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: herrschen is [ˈhɛʁʃn̩] while herrschende is [ˈhɛʁʃn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “herrschen” sits inside “herrschende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32605, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
herrschen is recorded at frequency rank #9,044, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛʁʃn̩]. herrschende is at rank #23,561, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɛʁʃn̩də].
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 32605, this pair ranks #1,704,046 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of herrschen vs herrschende
Shared letters: cehnrs. Private to "herrschen": -. Private to "herrschende": d.
"herrschen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCCCVC · "herrschende" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- herrschen ← ehrrschen · herrcshen · herrscchen · herrscehn · herrschenn · herrschhen · herrschne · herrshcen
- herrschende ← ehrrschende · herrcshende · herrscchende · herrscehnde · herrschedne · herrschendde · herrschened · herrschennde
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "herrschen" and "herrschende" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "herrschen" or "herrschende"?
Remembering herrschen vs herrschende
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “herrschen”; for an adjective, it's “herrschende”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “herrschen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable