Which to use
“hierro” is a noun and “hierve” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,781
- “hierro” frequency rank
- #28,017
- “hierve” frequency rank
- 30798
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hierro | hierve |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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). | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de hervir. |
Where the eye mixes hierro and hierve
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hierro with hierve
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hierro is [ˈjero] while hierve is [ˈjeɾβ̞e]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30798, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hierro is recorded at frequency rank #2,781, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈjero]. hierve is at rank #28,017, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈjeɾβ̞e].
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 30798, this pair ranks #210,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hierro vs hierve
Shared letters: ehir. Private to "hierro": o. Private to "hierve": v.
"hierro" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "hierve" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hierro" and "hierve" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "hierro" vs "hierve" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "hierro" and "hierve" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "hierro" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hierve" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #210,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hierro" and "hierve" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hierva vs hierve". 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 #210,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.