HerzogvsHerzögeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,662
“Herzog” frequency rank
#38,177
“Herzöge” frequency rank
41839
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Herzog Herzöge
Definition Adelstitel Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Herzog

Where the eye mixes Herzog and Herzöge

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Herzog runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Herzöge's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Herzog
7 ch
Herzöge

Visual trap between Herzog and Herzöge

A purely visual mix-up. Herzog ([ˈhɛʁt͡soːk]) and Herzöge ([ˈhɛɐ̯ˌt͡søːɡə]) 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 41839, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Herzog is recorded at frequency rank #3,662, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛʁt͡soːk]. Herzöge is at rank #38,177, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɛɐ̯ˌt͡søːɡə].

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 41839, this pair ranks #1,467,513 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Herzog vs Herzöge

Shared letters: eghrz. Private to "Herzog": o. Private to "Herzöge": ö.

"Herzog" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Herzöge" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Herzog ← ehrzog · herozg · herrzog · herzgo · herzogg · herzzog · hezrog · hherzog

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Herzog" and "Herzöge" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɛʁt͡soːk] versus [ˈhɛɐ̯ˌt͡søːɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Herzog" vs "Herzöge" - which ranks higher?
"Herzog" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,662 in our German list, against #38,177 for "Herzöge". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Herzog" and "Herzöge" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Herzog" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Herzöge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,467,513 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Herzog" and "Herzöge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Herzöge vs Herzogs". 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 #1,467,513 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