Which to use
“H” is a character and “Hof” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #409
- “H” frequency rank
- #1,773
- “Hof” frequency rank
- 2182
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | H | Hof |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | achter Buchstabe des lateinischen Alphabets | umgrenzter Platz, Wirtschafts- und Verkehrsfläche auf einem Grundstück, in der Regel von Gebäuden umschlossen oder hinter, vor oder zwischen Gebäuden gelegen |
Where the eye mixes H and Hof
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: H vs Hof
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: H is [haː] while Hof is [hoːf]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “H” sits inside “Hof”, and the parts of speech differ too (character vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2182, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
H is recorded at frequency rank #409, classified as acharacter, pronounced [haː]. Hof is at rank #1,773, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hoːf].
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 2182, this pair ranks #2,002,920 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of H vs Hof
Shared letters: h. Private to "H": -. Private to "Hof": fo.
"H" · 1 letters · shape C · "Hof" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "H" for "Hof" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "H" or "Hof" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "H" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Hof" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,002,920 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "H" and "Hof" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hof vs höh". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #2,002,920 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.