hobvsholaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hob is a verb, hola is a phrase, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hob” is a verb and “hola” is a phrase - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,380
“hob” frequency rank
#48,229
“hola” frequency rank
53609
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hob hola
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs heben hallo

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
hob
4 ch
hola

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: hob is averb and holaaphrase. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53609, 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]. hola is at rank #48,229, tagged as aphrase, pronounced […].

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 53609, this pair ranks #1,051,311 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hob vs hola

Shared letters: ho. Private to "hob": b. Private to "hola": al.

"hob" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "hola" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • holahhola · hloa · hoal · holla · ohla

Frequency comparison

hob#5,380
hola#48,229

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hob" and "hola" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hob" is a verb and "hola" a phrase, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hob" or "hola"?
"hob" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,380 in our German list, against #48,229 for "hola". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hob vs hola

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hob”; for a phrase, it's “hola”.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list