herb

\hɛrp\

/\hɛrp\/ adj

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

The verdict

“herb” has 6 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #35,983. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,983
frequency rank, French
1,969
“H” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Astringent, âcre, amer.

Corpus desk

Index FR-herb · herb · French

herb · rank #35,983 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,983
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,969
  • PHOTO-FINISH hem

Nearest frequency peer: hem (-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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « herb »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « herb » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

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 hr
50% similar
herb vs hey
50% similar
herb vs Heu
25% similar

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

Key facts for herb
PropertyValue
Headwordherb
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\hɛrp\
Letters4
Frequency rank#35,983
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « herb »

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.herbse place ici:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « hem » (#35,982), « heath » (#35,981), « hin » (#35,985). Parmi 1,969 lemmes en « H », « herb » est au #35,983. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around herb (IPA \hɛrp\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #35,983 among 1,969 “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, "hr", "hey", "Heu", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is herb, spelled H-E-R-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    Astringent, âcre, amer.
  2. 2
    Acerbe.
  3. 3
    Dur, sévère.

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. Ein guter Daiquiri ist angenehm herb und ein klein wenig süß; ein schlechter kann wie Salzsäure schmecken.
  2. Unser Glühweingewürz ist eine winterlich-duftende Gewürzmischung, mit der ganz einfach ein köstlicher Glühwein zubereitet werden kann. Das Punschgewürz enthält fruchtige Zitronenschalen, süßen Zimt und würzig-herbe Nelken.

Synonyms

bitterhart

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 French 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 \hɛrp\.
What does "herb" mean?
As an adjective, "herb" means: Astringent, âcre, amer.
What words are commonly confused with "herb"?
"herb" is commonly confused with "hr", "hey", "Heu". 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 \hɛrp\. 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 French 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 French words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

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

Hahn#35,979GmbH#35,967isla#36,015Kern#36,023

Similar misspelling depth

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

frire6 variantsfluor6 variantsjouis6 variantslirai6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list