höhvshöreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,239
“höh” frequency rank
#2,115
“höre” frequency rank
50354
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature höh höre
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs höhen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hören

Where the eye mixes höh and höre

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. höh runs 3 letters (CVC) against höre's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

3 ch
höh
4 ch
höre

Why the eye confuses höh with höre

A purely visual mix-up. höh ([høː]) and höre ([ˈhøːʁə]) 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 50354, 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]. höre is at rank #2,115, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhøːʁə].

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 50354, this pair ranks #1,176,880 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of höh vs höre

Shared letters: hö. Private to "höh": -. Private to "höre": er.

"höh" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "höre" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "höh" and "höre" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([høː] versus [ˈhøːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "höh" or "höre"?
"höre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,115 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.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "höh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "höre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,176,880 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "höh" and "höre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "höh vs Homs". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,176,880 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