höhvshoiConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#48,239
“höh” frequency rank
#41,901
“hoi” frequency rank
90140
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature höh hoi
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs höhen Ausruf des (freudigen) Erstaunens

Where the eye mixes höh and hoi

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. höh (CVC) and hoi (CVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

3 ch
höh
3 ch
hoi

Visual trap between höh and hoi

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: höh is [høː] while hoi is [hɔɪ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 90140, 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]. hoi is at rank #41,901, tagged as anintj, pronounced [hɔɪ̯].

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 90140, this pair ranks #50,006 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of höh vs hoi

Shared letters: h. Private to "höh": ö. Private to "hoi": io.

"höh" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "hoi" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "höh" and "hoi" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "höh" is a verb and "hoi" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "höh" or "hoi" show up more?
"hoi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,901 in our German list, against #48,239 for "höh". 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 "höh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hoi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #50,006 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "höh" and "hoi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "höh vs Homs". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #50,006 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