Which to use
“Hanse” is a name and “Hose” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,446
- “Hanse” frequency rank
- #2,968
- “Hose” frequency rank
- 29414
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hanse | Hose |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bund deutscher Städte im Mittelalter zur Förderung ihrer Interessen, vor allem des Handels | Kleidungsstück, das den Körper unterhalb der Taille (bis zu den Füßen) bedeckt und dabei jedes Bein einzeln umschließt. Der Plural ist auch für den Singular gebräuchlich, da eine Hose aus zwei Schläuchen (Hosen) besteht (vergleiche die Herkunft). |
Where the eye mixes Hanse and Hose
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Hanse vs Hose
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hanse is [ˈhanzə] while Hose is [ˈhoːzə]. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29414, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hanse is recorded at frequency rank #26,446, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈhanzə]. Hose is at rank #2,968, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhoːzə].
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 29414, this pair ranks #1,767,229 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Hanse vs Hose
Shared letters: ehs. Private to "Hanse": an. Private to "Hose": o.
"Hanse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Hose" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Hanse" for "Hose" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Hanse" or "Hose" 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 "Hanse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Hose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,767,229 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hanse" and "Hose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hähne vs Hanse". 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 #1,767,229 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.