Which to use
“hells” and “Hölle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,160
- “hells” frequency rank
- #2,897
- “Hölle” frequency rank
- 37057
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hells | Hölle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plural des Substantivs hell | in vielen Religionen der Ort, an dem Menschen nach dem Tod ewig für ihre Sünden büßen müssen |
Where the eye mixes hells and Hölle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hells with Hölle
A purely visual mix-up. hells ([hɛlz]) and Hölle ([ˈhœlə]) 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 37057, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hells is recorded at frequency rank #34,160, classified as anoun, pronounced [hɛlz]. Hölle is at rank #2,897, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhœlə].
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 37057, this pair ranks #1,599,885 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hells vs Hölle
Shared letters: ehl. Private to "hells": s. Private to "Hölle": ö.
"hells" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "Hölle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- hells ← ehlls · hellss · helsl · hhells · hlels
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hells" and "Hölle" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hells" or "Hölle"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "hells" and "Hölle" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "hells" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Hölle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,599,885 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hells" and "Hölle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heel vs hells". 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 #1,599,885 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.