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 eye mixes hervorheben and Hervorhebung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. hervorheben runs 11 letters (CVCCVCCVCVC) against Hervorhebung's 12 (CVCCVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: hervorheben vs Hervorhebung
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
- hervorheben ← ehrvorheben · herovrheben · herrvorheben · hervohreben · hervorehben · hervorhbeen · hervorhebben · hervorhebenn
- Hervorhebung ← ehrvorhebung · herovrhebung · herrvorhebung · hervohrebung · hervorehbung · hervorhbeung · hervorhebbung · hervorhebnug
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hervorheben" and "Hervorhebung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "hervorheben" or "Hervorhebung" 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 "hervorheben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Hervorhebung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #514,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hervorheben" and "Hervorhebung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hervorgehen vs hervorheben". 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 #514,073 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.