hobenvshockenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,101
“hoben” frequency rank
#20,298
“hocken” frequency rank
51399
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hoben hocken
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs heben mit stark angewinkelten Knien aufrecht sitzen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hoben and hocken apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
hoben
6 ch
hocken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hoben ([ˈhoːbn̩]) and hocken ([ˈhɔkn̩]) 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 51399, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hoben is recorded at frequency rank #31,101, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhoːbn̩]. hocken is at rank #20,298, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɔkn̩].

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 51399, this pair ranks #1,136,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hoben vs hocken

Shared letters: ehno. Private to "hoben": b. Private to "hocken": ck.

"hoben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "hocken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hobenhboen · hhoben · hobben · hobenn · hobne · hoebn · ohben
  • hockenhcoken · hhocken · hoccken · hocekn · hockenn · hockken · hockne · hokcen

Frequency comparison

hoben#31,101
hocken#20,298

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hoben" and "hocken" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhoːbn̩] versus [ˈhɔkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hoben" or "hocken"?
"hocken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,298 in our German list, against #31,101 for "hoben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hoben vs hocken

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 “hoben” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list