hellvshohlWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,967
“hell” frequency rank
#18,281
“hohl” frequency rank
22248
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hell hohl
Definition mit viel Licht erfüllt und damit leuchtend oder gut ausgeleuchtet ohne Inhalt

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
hell
4 ch
hohl

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hell ([hɛl]) and hohl ([hoːl]) 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 22248, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hell is recorded at frequency rank #3,967, classified as anadj, pronounced [hɛl]. hohl is at rank #18,281, tagged as anadj, pronounced [hoːl].

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 22248, this pair ranks #1,876,500 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hell vs hohl

Shared letters: hl. Private to "hell": e. Private to "hohl": o.

"hell" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "hohl" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hellehll · hhell · hlel
  • hohlhhohl · hhol · hohhl · hohll · holh · ohhl

Frequency comparison

hell#3,967
hohl#18,281

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hell" and "hohl" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([hɛl] versus [hoːl]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hell" or "hohl"?
"hell" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,967 in our German list, against #18,281 for "hohl". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hell vs hohl

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hell” 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