Which to use
“hob” is a verb and “hour” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,380
- “hob” frequency rank
- #18,576
- “hour” frequency rank
- 23956
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hob | hour |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs heben | Stunde |
Where the eye mixes hob and hour
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hob vs hour
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hob is [hoːp] while hour is [aʊə(ɹ)]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23956, 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]. hour is at rank #18,576, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aʊə(ɹ)].
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 23956, this pair ranks #1,854,265 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hob vs hour
Shared letters: ho. Private to "hob": b. Private to "hour": ru.
"hob" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hour" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hour ← hhour · horu · hourr · huor · ohur
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hob" and "hour" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "hob" vs "hour" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hob" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hour" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,854,265 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hob" and "hour" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "höh vs hour". 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 #1,854,265 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.