HeftvsHofWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,743
“Heft” frequency rank
#1,773
“Hof” frequency rank
5516
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Heft Hof
Definition mit einem Einband versehene Zusammenheftung von Blättern aus Papier, auf die geschrieben werden kann, vor allem für die Schule 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 Heft and Hof

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

4 ch
Heft
3 ch
Hof

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Heft ([hɛft]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5516, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Heft is recorded at frequency rank #3,743, classified as anoun, pronounced [hɛft]. 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 5516, this pair ranks #1,994,526 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Heft vs Hof

Shared letters: fh. Private to "Heft": et. Private to "Hof": o.

"Heft" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Hof" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Heftehft · hefft · heftt · hetf · hfet · hheft

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Heft" and "Hof" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([hɛft] versus [hoːf]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Heft" or "Hof"?
"Hof" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,773 in our German list, against #3,743 for "Heft". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Heft" and "Hof". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Heft" 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 #1,994,526 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Heft" and "Hof" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heel vs Heft". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list