HockvshourWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,238
“Hock” frequency rank
#18,576
“hour” frequency rank
53814
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hock hour
Definition geselliges Beisammensein Stunde

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Hock and hour apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Hock
4 ch
hour

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Hock ([hɔk]) and hour ([aʊə(ɹ)]) 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 53814, 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]. hour is at rank #18,576, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aʊə(ɹ)].

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 53814, this pair ranks #1,043,235 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hock vs hour

Shared letters: ho. Private to "Hock": ck. Private to "hour": ru.

"Hock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "hour" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hockhcok · hhock · hocck · hockk · hokc · ohck
  • hourhhour · horu · hourr · huor · ohur

Frequency comparison

Hock#35,238
hour#18,576

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hock" and "hour" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([hɔk] versus [aʊə(ɹ)]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Hock" or "hour"?
"hour" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,576 in our German list, against #35,238 for "Hock". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Hock vs hour

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 “Hock” 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