ahoivsAHSConfusable pair

Quick tell: ahoi is a intj, AHS is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ahoi” is an intj and “AHS” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#29,909
“ahoi” frequency rank
#31,921
“AHS” frequency rank
61830
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ahoi AHS
Definition bei der Schifffahrt gebräuchlicher Ausruf, um ein anderes Schiff anzurufen oder auf dieses aufmerksam zu machen Allgemeinbildende Höhere Schule

Where the eye mixes ahoi and AHS

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
ahoi
3 ch
AHS

Look-alike desk: ahoi vs AHS

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ahoi is [aˈhɔɪ̯] while AHS is [aːhaːˈʔɛs]. 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 (intj vs abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61830, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ahoi is recorded at frequency rank #29,909, classified as anintj, pronounced [aˈhɔɪ̯]. AHS is at rank #31,921, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [aːhaːˈʔɛs].

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 61830, this pair ranks #735,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ahoi vs AHS

Shared letters: ah. Private to "ahoi": io. Private to "AHS": s.

"ahoi" · 4 letters · shape VCVV  ·  "AHS" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ahoiahhoi · ahio · aohi · haoi

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ahoi" and "AHS" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ahoi" is an intj and "AHS" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ahoi" or "AHS"?
"ahoi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,909 in our German list, against #31,921 for "AHS". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ahoi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "AHS" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #735,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ahoi" and "AHS" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "AHS vs AUD". 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 #735,086 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list