histoirevshistoryWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,291
“histoire” frequency rank
#8,391
“history” frequency rank
29682
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature histoire history
Definition Vergangenheit der Gesellschaft als Entwicklung und Anpassung gesellschaftlich organisierter Lebewesen an ihre Umwelt; Geschichte Historie

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set histoire and history apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
histoire
7 ch
history

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. histoire ([is.twaʁ]) and history ([hɪstəri]) 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 29682, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

histoire is recorded at frequency rank #21,291, classified as anoun, pronounced [is.twaʁ]. history is at rank #8,391, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hɪstəri].

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 29682, this pair ranks #1,762,245 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of histoire vs history

Shared letters: hiorst. Private to "histoire": e. Private to "history": y.

"histoire" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV  ·  "history" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • histoirehhistoire · hisotire · hisstoire · histiore · histoier · histoirre · histtoire · hitsoire
  • historyhhistory · hisotry · hisstory · historry · historyy · histoyr · histroy · histtory

Frequency comparison

histoire#21,291
history#8,391

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "histoire" and "history" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([is.twaʁ] versus [hɪstəri]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "histoire" or "history"?
"history" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,391 in our German list, against #21,291 for "histoire". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering histoire vs history

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 “histoire” 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