Which to use
“hierba” is a noun and “hierva” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,172
- “hierba” frequency rank
- #49,052
- “hierva” frequency rank
- 56224
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hierba | hierva |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Planta cuyo tallo, raíz y ramaje no presentan lignificación, es decir, carecen de las estructuras leñosas típicas de la madera en árboles y arbustos. La estructura herbácea es independiente de la duración del ciclo de vida de la planta; muchas hierbas son vivaces, perdiendo las partes tiernas en invierno pero brotando nuevamente a partir de un bulbo o rizoma todos los años, mientras que otras son perennes. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de hervir. |
Same sound, different letters: hierba vs hierva
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - hierba and hierva
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: hierba and hierva carry the same recorded pronunciation, [ˈjeɾβ̞a]. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by a single letter - b in “hierba” becomes v in “hierva”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hierba is recorded at frequency rank #7,172, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈjeɾβ̞a]. hierva is at rank #49,052, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈjeɾβ̞a].
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 56224, this pair ranks #75,497 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hierba vs hierva
Shared letters: aehir. Private to "hierba": b. Private to "hierva": v.
"hierba" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "hierva" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hierba" and "hierva" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "hierba" vs "hierva" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
You've separated the homophone pair "hierba" / "hierva". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "hierba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hierva" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,497 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hierba" and "hierva" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hidra vs hierva". 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 #75,497 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.