Which to use
“Höfe” is a noun and “hoffen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,734
- “Höfe” frequency rank
- #1,811
- “hoffen” frequency rank
- 18545
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Höfe | hoffen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Hof | zuversichtlich erwarten, in die Zukunft vertrauen |
Where the eye mixes Höfe and hoffen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Höfe and hoffen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Höfe is [ˈhøːfə] while hoffen is [ˈhɔfn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Höfe is recorded at frequency rank #16,734, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhøːfə]. hoffen is at rank #1,811, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɔfn̩].
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 18545, this pair ranks #1,917,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Höfe vs hoffen
Shared letters: efh. Private to "Höfe": ö. Private to "hoffen": no.
"Höfe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "hoffen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hoffen ← hfofen · hhoffen · hofefn · hofen · hoffenn · hoffne · ohffen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Höfe" for "hoffen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Höfe" or "hoffen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Höfe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hoffen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,917,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Höfe" and "hoffen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "haze vs Höfe". 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 #1,917,187 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.