Which to use
“hob” is a verb and “hobby” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,380
- “hob” frequency rank
- #4,358
- “hobby” frequency rank
- 9738
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hob | hobby |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs heben | eine Tätigkeit, der man sich nicht aus Notwendigkeit, sondern freiwillig und aus Interesse, Faszination oder sogar Leidenschaft unterzieht und Vergnügen, Spaß oder Lustgewinn mit sich bringt |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hob and hobby apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hob is [hoːp] while hobby is [ˈhɒbi]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “hob” sits inside “hobby”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9738, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hob is recorded at frequency rank #5,380, classified as averb, pronounced [hoːp]. hobby is at rank #4,358, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɒbi].
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 9738, this pair ranks #1,978,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hob vs hobby
Shared letters: bho. Private to "hob": -. Private to "hobby": y.
"hob" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hobby" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- hobby ← hboby · hhobby · hobbyy · hoby · hobyb · ohbby
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hob" and "hobby" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hob" or "hobby"?
Remembering hob vs hobby
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hob”; for a noun, it's “hobby”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hob” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable