höhvshonConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#48,239
“höh” frequency rank
#40,001
“hon” frequency rank
88240
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature höh hon
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs höhen 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs honen

Where the eye mixes höh and hon

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. höh and hon follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

3 ch
höh
3 ch
hon

Visual trap between höh and hon

A purely visual mix-up. höh ([høː]) and hon ([hoːn]) 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 88240, 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]. hon is at rank #40,001, tagged as averb, pronounced [hoːn].

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 88240, this pair ranks #70,682 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of höh vs hon

Shared letters: h. Private to "höh": ö. Private to "hon": no.

"höh" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "hon" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "höh" and "hon" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([høː] versus [hoːn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "höh" or "hon" show up more?
"hon" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,001 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.

What to do next

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 "hon" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #70,682 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "höh" and "hon" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "höh vs Homs". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #70,682 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