Which to use
“hohl” is an adjective and “how” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,281
- “hohl” frequency rank
- #4,899
- “how” frequency rank
- 23180
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hohl | how |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne Inhalt | nach der Methode fragend |
Where the eye mixes hohl and how
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hohl with how
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hohl is [hoːl] while how is [haʊ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23180, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hohl is recorded at frequency rank #18,281, classified as anadj, pronounced [hoːl]. how is at rank #4,899, tagged as anadv, pronounced [haʊ].
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 23180, this pair ranks #1,864,727 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hohl vs how
Shared letters: ho. Private to "hohl": l. Private to "how": w.
"hohl" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "how" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hohl ← hhohl · hhol · hohhl · hohll · holh · ohhl
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hohl" and "how" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "hohl" or "how" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hohl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "how" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,864,727 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hohl" and "how" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heel vs hohl". 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 #1,864,727 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.