Which to use
“hoben” and “hörten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,101
- “hoben” frequency rank
- #11,457
- “hörten” frequency rank
- 42558
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hoben | hörten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs heben | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs hören |
Where the eye mixes hoben and hörten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. hoben runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against hörten's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses hoben with hörten
A purely visual mix-up. hoben ([ˈhoːbn̩]) and hörten ([ˈhøːɐ̯tn̩]) 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 42558, 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]. hörten is at rank #11,457, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhøːɐ̯tn̩].
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 42558, this pair ranks #1,445,658 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hoben vs hörten
Shared letters: ehn. Private to "hoben": bo. Private to "hörten": rtö.
"hoben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "hörten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hoben ← hboen · hhoben · hobben · hobenn · hobne · hoebn · ohben
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hoben" for "hörten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "hoben" vs "hörten" - 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 "hoben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hörten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,445,658 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hoben" and "hörten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hoben vs Hörern". 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 #1,445,658 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.