herzlichvsherzlichesTell them apart

Which to use

“herzlich” and “herzliches” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,049
“herzlich” frequency rank
#19,253
“herzliches” frequency rank
22302
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature herzlich herzliches
Definition freundlich gesinnt Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs herzlich

Where the eye mixes herzlich and herzliches

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. herzlich runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCC) against herzliches's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
herzlich
10 ch
herzliches

Visual trap between herzlich and herzliches

A purely visual mix-up. herzlich ([ˈhɛʁt͡slɪç]) and herzliches ([ˈhɛʁt͡slɪçəs]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “herzlich” sits inside “herzliches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22302, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

herzlich is recorded at frequency rank #3,049, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɛʁt͡slɪç]. herzliches is at rank #19,253, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɛʁt͡slɪçəs].

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 22302, this pair ranks #1,875,812 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of herzlich vs herzliches

Shared letters: cehilrz. Private to "herzlich": -. Private to "herzliches": s.

"herzlich" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC  ·  "herzliches" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • herzlich ← ehrzlich · herlzich · herrzlich · herzilch · herzlcih · herzlicch · herzlichh · herzlihc
  • herzliches ← ehrzliches · herlziches · herrzliches · herzilches · herzlcihes · herzlicches · herzlicehs · herzlichess

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "herzlich" for "herzliches" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɛʁt͡slɪç] versus [ˈhɛʁt͡slɪçəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "herzlich" vs "herzliches" - which ranks higher?
"herzlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,049 in our German list, against #19,253 for "herzliches". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "herzlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "herzliches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,875,812 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "herzlich" and "herzliches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "herrlichem vs herzliches". 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 #1,875,812 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list