HaivsHofWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Hai” and “Hof” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,389
“Hai” frequency rank
#1,773
“Hof” frequency rank
15162
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hai Hof
Definition im Meer lebender Raubfisch (Überordnung Selachii) aus der Klasse der Knorpelfische 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 Hai and Hof

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
Hai
3 ch
Hof

Why the eye confuses Hai with Hof

A purely visual mix-up. Hai ([haɪ̯]) and Hof ([hoːf]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15162, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hai is recorded at frequency rank #13,389, classified as anoun, pronounced [haɪ̯]. 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 15162, this pair ranks #1,945,939 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Hai vs Hof

Shared letters: h. Private to "Hai": ai. Private to "Hof": fo.

"Hai" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "Hof" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hai" and "Hof" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([haɪ̯] versus [hoːf]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Hai" or "Hof" show up more?
"Hof" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,773 in our German list, against #13,389 for "Hai". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hai" 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 #1,945,939 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hai" and "Hof" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hai vs haze". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,945,939 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