Which to use
“herrschen” and “herrscht” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,044
- “herrschen” frequency rank
- #3,320
- “herrscht” frequency rank
- 12364
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | herrschen | herrscht |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Macht über jemand oder etwas ausüben | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs herrschen |
Where the eye mixes herrschen and herrscht
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. herrschen runs 9 letters (CVCCCCCVC) against herrscht's 8 (CVCCCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses herrschen with herrscht
A purely visual mix-up. herrschen ([ˈhɛʁʃn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12364, 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]. 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 12364, this pair ranks #1,964,602 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of herrschen vs herrscht
Shared letters: cehrs. Private to "herrschen": n. Private to "herrscht": t.
"herrschen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCCCVC · "herrscht" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "herrschen" for "herrscht" ever safe?
Frequency check: "herrschen" vs "herrscht" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "herrschen" 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 #1,964,602 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "herrschen" and "herrscht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "herrschen 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 #1,964,602 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.