HofvsHolzWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,773
“Hof” frequency rank
#1,925
“Holz” frequency rank
3698
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hof Holz
Definition umgrenzter Platz, Wirtschafts- und Verkehrsfläche auf einem Grundstück, in der Regel von Gebäuden umschlossen oder hinter, vor oder zwischen Gebäuden gelegen aus Zellulose und Lignin bestehende Masse eines Baumes

Where the eye mixes Hof and Holz

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

3 ch
Hof
4 ch
Holz

Why the eye confuses Hof with Holz

A purely visual mix-up. Hof ([hoːf]) and Holz ([hɔlt͡s]) 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 3698, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hof is recorded at frequency rank #1,773, classified as anoun, pronounced [hoːf]. Holz is at rank #1,925, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hɔlt͡s].

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 3698, this pair ranks #1,999,601 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Hof vs Holz

Shared letters: ho. Private to "Hof": f. Private to "Holz": lz.

"Hof" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Holz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Holzhholz · hloz · hollz · holzz · hozl · ohlz

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hof" and "Holz" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([hoːf] versus [hɔlt͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Hof" vs "Holz" - which ranks higher?
"Hof" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,773 in our German list, against #1,925 for "Holz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Hof" and "Holz" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hof" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Holz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,999,601 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hof" and "Holz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "höh vs Holz". 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 #1,999,601 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