hoffenvshoffstWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,811
“hoffen” frequency rank
#48,225
“hoffst” frequency rank
50036
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hoffen hoffst
Definition zuversichtlich erwarten, in die Zukunft vertrauen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hoffen

Where the eye mixes hoffen and hoffst

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

6 ch
hoffen
6 ch
hoffst

Look-alike desk: hoffen vs hoffst

A purely visual mix-up. hoffen ([ˈhɔfn̩]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hoffen is recorded at frequency rank #1,811, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɔfn̩]. 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 50036, this pair ranks #1,189,024 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hoffen vs hoffst

Shared letters: fho. Private to "hoffen": en. Private to "hoffst": st.

"hoffen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "hoffst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hoffenhfofen · hhoffen · hofefn · hofen · hoffenn · hoffne · ohffen
  • hoffsthfofst · hhoffst · hoffsst · hoffstt · hoffts · hofsft · hofst · ohffst

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "hoffen" for "hoffst" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɔfn̩] versus [hɔfst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "hoffen" or "hoffst" show up more?
"hoffen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,811 in our German list, against #48,225 for "hoffst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "hoffen" 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 #1,189,024 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hoffen" 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 #1,189,024 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