heilvshoiWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#4,208
“heil” frequency rank
#41,901
“hoi” frequency rank
46109
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature heil hoi
Definition nicht zerbrochen; unversehrt; nicht verletzt Ausruf des (freudigen) Erstaunens

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set heil and hoi apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
heil
3 ch
hoi

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: heil is [haɪ̯l] while hoi is [hɔɪ̯]. 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 (adjective vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46109, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

heil is recorded at frequency rank #4,208, classified as anadj, pronounced [haɪ̯l]. 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 46109, this pair ranks #1,330,325 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of heil vs hoi

Shared letters: hi. Private to "heil": el. Private to "hoi": o.

"heil" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "hoi" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • heilehil · heill · hheil · hiel

Frequency comparison

heil#4,208
hoi#41,901

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "heil" and "hoi" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "heil" is an adjective and "hoi" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "heil" or "hoi"?
"heil" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,208 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 heil vs hoi

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “heil”; for an intj, it's “hoi”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “heil” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list