HinzvsHolzWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Hinz is a name, Holz is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Hinz” is a name and “Holz” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,954
“Hinz” frequency rank
#1,925
“Holz” frequency rank
22879
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hinz Holz
Definition männlicher Vorname aus Zellulose und Lignin bestehende Masse eines Baumes

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
Hinz
4 ch
Holz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hinz is [hɪnt͡s] while Holz is [hɔlt͡s]. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22879, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hinz is recorded at frequency rank #20,954, classified as aname, pronounced [hɪnt͡s]. Holz is at rank #1,925, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hɔlt͡s].

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 22879, this pair ranks #1,868,568 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Hinz vs Holz

Shared letters: hz. Private to "Hinz": in. Private to "Holz": lo.

"Hinz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Holz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hinzhhinz · hinnz · hinzz · hizn · hniz · ihnz
  • Holzhholz · hloz · hollz · holzz · hozl · ohlz

Frequency comparison

Hinz#20,954
Holz#1,925

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hinz" and "Holz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Hinz" is a name and "Holz" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Hinz" or "Holz"?
"Holz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,925 in our German list, against #20,954 for "Hinz". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Hinz vs Holz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Hinz”; for a noun, it's “Holz”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Hinz” 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