HockvsHoseTell them apart

Which to use

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

#35,238
“Hock” frequency rank
#2,968
“Hose” frequency rank
38206
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hock Hose
Definition geselliges Beisammensein Kleidungsstück, das den Körper unterhalb der Taille (bis zu den Füßen) bedeckt und dabei jedes Bein einzeln umschließt. Der Plural ist auch für den Singular gebräuchlich, da eine Hose aus zwei Schläuchen (Hosen) besteht (vergleiche die Herkunft).

Where the eye mixes Hock and Hose

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Hock
4 ch
Hose

Visual trap between Hock and Hose

A purely visual mix-up. Hock ([hɔk]) and Hose ([ˈhoːzə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38206, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hock is recorded at frequency rank #35,238, classified as anoun, pronounced [hɔk]. Hose is at rank #2,968, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhoːzə].

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 38206, this pair ranks #1,570,070 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Hock vs Hose

Shared letters: ho. Private to "Hock": ck. Private to "Hose": es.

"Hock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Hose" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hockhcok · hhock · hocck · hockk · hokc · ohck
  • Hosehhose · hoes · hosse · hsoe · ohse

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Hock" for "Hose" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([hɔk] versus [ˈhoːzə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Hock" or "Hose" show up more?
"Hose" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,968 in our German list, against #35,238 for "Hock". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hock" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Hose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,570,070 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hock" and "Hose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hock vs höh". 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 #1,570,070 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