höhvshohemWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: höh is a verb, hohem is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“höh” is a verb and “hohem” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,239
“höh” frequency rank
#4,278
“hohem” frequency rank
52517
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature höh hohem
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs höhen Dativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs hoch

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set höh and hohem apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
höh
5 ch
hohem

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: höh is [høː] while hohem is [ˈhoːəm]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

höh is recorded at frequency rank #48,239, classified as averb, pronounced [høː]. hohem is at rank #4,278, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhoːəm].

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 52517, this pair ranks #1,093,674 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of höh vs hohem

Shared letters: h. Private to "höh": ö. Private to "hohem": emo.

"höh" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "hohem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hohemhhoem · hhohem · hoehm · hohemm · hohhem · hohme · ohhem

Frequency comparison

höh#48,239
hohem#4,278

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "höh" and "hohem" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "höh" is a verb and "hohem" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "höh" or "hohem"?
"hohem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,278 in our German list, against #48,239 for "höh". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering höh vs hohem

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “höh”; for an adjective, it's “hohem”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “höh” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list