hervorhebenvsHervorhebungWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hervorheben is a verb, Hervorhebung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hervorheben” is a verb and “Hervorhebung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,562
“hervorheben” frequency rank
#44,682
“Hervorhebung” frequency rank
68244
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hervorheben Hervorhebung
Definition etwas im hohen Maße betonen Kennzeichnung als etwas, das man betonen will

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hervorheben and Hervorhebung apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
hervorheben
12 ch
Hervorhebung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hervorheben is [hɛɐ̯ˈfoːɐ̯ˌheːbn̩] while Hervorhebung is [hɛɐ̯ˈfoːɐ̯ˌheːbʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68244, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hervorheben is recorded at frequency rank #23,562, classified as averb, pronounced [hɛɐ̯ˈfoːɐ̯ˌheːbn̩]. Hervorhebung is at rank #44,682, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hɛɐ̯ˈfoːɐ̯ˌheːbʊŋ].

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 68244, this pair ranks #514,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hervorheben vs Hervorhebung

Shared letters: behnorv. Private to "hervorheben": -. Private to "Hervorhebung": gu.

"hervorheben" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVC  ·  "Hervorhebung" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hervorhebenehrvorheben · herovrheben · herrvorheben · hervohreben · hervorehben · hervorhbeen · hervorhebben · hervorhebenn
  • Hervorhebungehrvorhebung · herovrhebung · herrvorhebung · hervohrebung · hervorehbung · hervorhbeung · hervorhebbung · hervorhebnug

Frequency comparison

hervorheben#23,562
Hervorhebung#44,682

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hervorheben" and "Hervorhebung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hervorheben" is a verb and "Hervorhebung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hervorheben" or "Hervorhebung"?
"hervorheben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,562 in our German list, against #44,682 for "Hervorhebung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hervorheben vs Hervorhebung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hervorheben”; for a noun, it's “Hervorhebung”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hervorheben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list