hoffvshoffstWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,863
“hoff” frequency rank
#48,225
“hoffst” frequency rank
62088
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hoff hoffst
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hoffen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hoffen

Where the eye mixes hoff and hoffst

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

4 ch
hoff
6 ch
hoffst

Visual trap between hoff and hoffst

A purely visual mix-up. hoff ([hɔf]) and hoffst ([hɔfst]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “hoff” sits inside “hoffst”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hoff is recorded at frequency rank #13,863, classified as averb, pronounced [hɔf]. hoffst is at rank #48,225, tagged as averb, pronounced [hɔfst].

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 62088, this pair ranks #725,616 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hoff vs hoffst

Shared letters: fho. Private to "hoff": -. Private to "hoffst": st.

"hoff" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "hoffst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hoffhfof · hhoff · ohff
  • hoffsthfofst · hhoffst · hoffsst · hoffstt · hoffts · hofsft · hofst · ohffst

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "hoff" for "hoffst" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([hɔf] versus [hɔfst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hoff" or "hoffst"?
"hoff" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,863 in our German list, against #48,225 for "hoffst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "hoff" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hoffst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #725,616 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hoff" and "hoffst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hilfst vs hoffst". 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 #725,616 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