höchstvshoffstWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: höchst is a adverb, hoffst is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“höchst” is an adverb and “hoffst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,360
“höchst” frequency rank
#48,225
“hoffst” frequency rank
52585
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature höchst hoffst
Definition in größtem Maße 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hoffen

Where the eye mixes höchst and hoffst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

6 ch
höchst
6 ch
hoffst

Visual trap between höchst and hoffst

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: höchst is [høːçst] while hoffst is [hɔfst]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52585, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

höchst is recorded at frequency rank #4,360, classified as anadv, pronounced [høːçst]. hoffst is at rank #48,225, tagged as averb, pronounced [hɔfst].

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 52585, this pair ranks #1,091,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of höchst vs hoffst

Shared letters: hst. Private to "höchst": . Private to "hoffst": fo.

"höchst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC  ·  "hoffst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hoffsthfofst · hhoffst · hoffsst · hoffstt · hoffts · hofsft · hofst · ohffst

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "höchst" for "hoffst" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "höchst" is an adverb and "hoffst" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "höchst" or "hoffst"?
"höchst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,360 in our German list, against #48,225 for "hoffst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "höchst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hoffst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,091,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "höchst" and "hoffst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hilfst vs hoffst". 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 #1,091,081 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