hochvshörTell them apart

Quick tell: hoch is a adjective, hör is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hoch” is an adjective and “hör” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#451
“hoch” frequency rank
#2,601
“hör” frequency rank
3052
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hoch hör
Definition weit oben befindlich 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hören

Where the eye mixes hoch and hör

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

4 ch
hoch
3 ch
hör

Why the eye confuses hoch with hör

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hoch is [hoːx] while hör is [høːɐ̯]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3052, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hoch is recorded at frequency rank #451, classified as anadj, pronounced [hoːx]. hör is at rank #2,601, tagged as averb, pronounced [høːɐ̯].

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 3052, this pair ranks #2,001,044 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hoch vs hör

Shared letters: h. Private to "hoch": co. Private to "hör": .

"hoch" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "hör" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hochhcoh · hhoch · hocch · hochh · hohc · ohch

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "hoch" for "hör" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hoch" is an adjective and "hör" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "hoch" or "hör" show up more?
"hoch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #451 in our German list, against #2,601 for "hör". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hoch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hör" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,001,044 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hoch" and "hör" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "höh vs hör". 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 #2,001,044 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list