Which to use
“hieren” is a verb and “hierro” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,072
- “hieren” frequency rank
- #2,781
- “hierro” frequency rank
- 37853
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hieren | hierro |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de herir. | Elemento químico con número atómico 26 cuyo símbolo es Fe. Pertenece al grupo de los metales de transición. Es un metal que se conoce desde la prehistoria y tiene propiedades ferromagnéticas (como imán). |
Where the eye mixes hieren and hierro
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hieren vs hierro
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hieren is [ˈjeɾẽn] while hierro is [ˈjero]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37853, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hieren is recorded at frequency rank #35,072, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈjeɾẽn]. hierro is at rank #2,781, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈjero].
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 37853, this pair ranks #173,127 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hieren vs hierro
Shared letters: ehir. Private to "hieren": n. Private to "hierro": o.
"hieren" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "hierro" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hieren" for "hierro" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "hieren" or "hierro" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hierro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #173,127 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hieren" and "hierro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hieren 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 #173,127 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.