hayvshoiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hay is a noun, hoi is an intj, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hay” is a noun and “hoi” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,588
“hay” frequency rank
#41,901
“hoi” frequency rank
74489
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hay hoi
Definition Tierfutter; Heu Ausruf des (freudigen) Erstaunens

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hay and hoi apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
hay
3 ch
hoi

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hay is [heɪ] while hoi is [hɔɪ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74489, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hay is recorded at frequency rank #32,588, classified as anoun, pronounced [heɪ]. hoi is at rank #41,901, tagged as anintj, pronounced [hɔɪ̯].

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 74489, this pair ranks #332,141 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hay vs hoi

Shared letters: h. Private to "hay": ay. Private to "hoi": io.

"hay" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "hoi" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

hay#32,588
hoi#41,901

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hay" and "hoi" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hay" is a noun and "hoi" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hay" or "hoi"?
"hay" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,588 in our German list, against #41,901 for "hoi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hay vs hoi

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “hay”; for an intj, it's “hoi”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hay” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list