HofesvsHolmesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#18,928
“Hofes” frequency rank
#12,307
“Holmes” frequency rank
31235
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hofes Holmes
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Hof Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Holm

Where the eye mixes Hofes and Holmes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Hofes
6 ch
Holmes

Why the eye confuses Hofes with Holmes

A purely visual mix-up. Hofes ([ˈhoːfəs]) and Holmes ([ˈhɔlməs]) 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 31235, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hofes is recorded at frequency rank #18,928, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhoːfəs]. Holmes is at rank #12,307, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɔlməs].

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 31235, this pair ranks #1,732,150 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Hofes vs Holmes

Shared letters: ehos. Private to "Hofes": f. Private to "Holmes": lm.

"Hofes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Holmes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hofeshfoes · hhofes · hoefs · hofess · hoffes · hofse · ohfes
  • Holmeshholmes · hlomes · holems · hollmes · holmess · holmmes · holmse · homles

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Hofes" and "Holmes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhoːfəs] versus [ˈhɔlməs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Hofes" or "Holmes"?
"Holmes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,307 in our German list, against #18,928 for "Hofes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hofes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Holmes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,732,150 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hofes" and "Holmes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hofes vs Homs". 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 #1,732,150 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