Which to use
“hoffen” and “hören” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,811
- “hoffen” frequency rank
- #702
- “hören” frequency rank
- 2513
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hoffen | hören |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zuversichtlich erwarten, in die Zukunft vertrauen | mit den Ohren |
Where the eye mixes hoffen and hören
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between hoffen and hören
A purely visual mix-up. hoffen ([ˈhɔfn̩]) and hören ([ˈhøːʁən]) 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 2513, 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]. hören is at rank #702, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhøːʁən].
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 2513, this pair ranks #2,002,170 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hoffen vs hören
Shared letters: ehn. Private to "hoffen": fo. Private to "hören": rö.
"hoffen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "hören" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hoffen ← hfofen · hhoffen · hofefn · hofen · hoffenn · hoffne · ohffen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hoffen" and "hören" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "hoffen" or "hören" show up more?
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 "hören" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,002,170 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hoffen" and "hören" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hoffen 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 #2,002,170 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.