herirvsherrWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#12,394
“herir” frequency rank
#43,051
“herr” frequency rank
55445
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature herir herr
Definition Abrir, romper, destrozar las carnes de un animal. Señor (tratamiento).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set herir and herr apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
herir
4 ch
herr

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: herir is [eˈɾiɾ] while herr is [ˈhærː]. 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 55445, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

herir is recorded at frequency rank #12,394, classified as averb, pronounced [eˈɾiɾ]. herr is at rank #43,051, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhærː].

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 55445, this pair ranks #78,863 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of herir vs herr

Shared letters: ehr. Private to "herir": i. Private to "herr": -.

"herir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "herr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • herirehrir · heirr · herirr · herri · herrir · hherir · hreir
  • herrehrr · hherr · hrer

Frequency comparison

herir#12,394
herr#43,051

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "herir" and "herr" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "herir" is a verb and "herr" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "herir" or "herr"?
"herir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,394 in our Spanish list, against #43,051 for "herr". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering herir vs herr

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “herir”; for a noun, it's “herr”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “herir” 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