Which to use
“herrschen” and “herrschten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,044
- “herrschen” frequency rank
- #28,243
- “herrschten” frequency rank
- 37287
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | herrschen | herrschten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Macht über jemand oder etwas ausüben | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs herrschen |
Where the eye mixes herrschen and herrschten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. herrschen runs 9 letters (CVCCCCCVC) against herrschten's 10 (CVCCCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between herrschen and herrschten
A purely visual mix-up. herrschen ([ˈhɛʁʃn̩]) and herrschten ([ˈhɛʁʃtn̩]) 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 37287, 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]. herrschten is at rank #28,243, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛʁʃtn̩].
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 37287, this pair ranks #1,594,082 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of herrschen vs herrschten
Shared letters: cehnrs. Private to "herrschen": -. Private to "herrschten": t.
"herrschen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCCCVC · "herrschten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- herrschen ← ehrrschen · herrcshen · herrscchen · herrscehn · herrschenn · herrschhen · herrschne · herrshcen
- herrschten ← ehrrschten · herrcshten · herrscchten · herrschetn · herrschhten · herrschtenn · herrschtne · herrschtten
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "herrschen" for "herrschten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "herrschen" or "herrschten" show up more?
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 "herrschten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,594,082 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "herrschen" and "herrschten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Herrschern vs herrschten". 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 #1,594,082 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.