herb

[hɛʁp]

/[hɛʁp]/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“herb” has 6 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #22,757. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,757
frequency rank, German
3,372
“H” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - in der Nähe von bitter, das Gegenteil von süßlich

Corpus desk

Index DE-herb · herb · German

herb · rank #22,757 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,757
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,372
  • PHOTO-FINISH Herangehenswe…

Nearest frequency peer: Herangehensweise (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „herb“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „herb“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

herb vs hey
50% similar
herb vs hör
50% similar
herb vs hob
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for herb
PropertyValue
Headwordherb
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[hɛʁp]
Letters4
Frequency rank#22,757
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „herb“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.herbliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Herangehensweise“ (#22,756), „Heribert“ (#22,758), „Hering“ (#22,759). Unter 3,372 „H“-Lemmata liegt „herb“ bei #22,757. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around herb (IPA [hɛʁp]), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #22,757 among 3,372 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for herb, with forms such as "ehrb", "hebr", and "herbb". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "hey", "hör", "hob", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is herb, spelled H-E-R-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    in der Nähe von bitter, das Gegenteil von süßlich
  2. 2
    eher mit groberen geraderen Zügen ausgestattet
  3. 3
    deutlich und unangenehm

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how herb appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Besonders heikel ist der verfeinerte Gaumen ja mit den simpelsten Drinks: „Ein guter Daiquiri ist angenehm herb und ein klein wenig süß; ein schlechter kann wie Salzsäure schmecken.“
  2. Seine neue Freundin ist eine herbe Schönheit mit langen, dunklen Haaren.

Antonyms

salzigsauersüßumamilieblichmildweichfreundlich

This word in other languages

bitter(English)amargo(Español)amer(Français)amargo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehrb
  • hebr
  • herbb
  • herrb
  • hherb
  • hreb

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of herb - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ehrb2hebr2herbb1herrb1hherb1hreb2
Edit distance from "herb"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "herb"?
"herb" is spelled H-E-R-B. The IPA pronunciation is [hɛʁp].
What does "herb" mean?
As an adjective, "herb" means: in der Nähe von bitter, das Gegenteil von süßlich
What words are commonly confused with "herb"?
"herb" is commonly confused with "hey", "hör", "hob". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "herb"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "herb" is [hɛʁp]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "herb" come from?
"herb" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "herb", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

heat#22,753Ines#22,771Flop#22,724Esch#22,712

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

koste6 variantsSuhl6 variantsZimt6 variantswirf6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list