Which to use
“Höhle” is a noun and “hole” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,271
- “Höhle” frequency rank
- #7,486
- “hole” frequency rank
- 12757
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Höhle | hole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch natürliche Prozesse entstandener, für Menschen zugänglicher hohler Raum in der Erdkruste, der relativ nah an der Oberfläche ist und teilweise oder ganz von Gestein umgeben ist | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs holen |
Where the eye mixes Höhle and hole
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Höhle runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against hole's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Höhle with hole
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Höhle is [ˈhøːlə] while hole is [ˈhoːlə]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12757, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Höhle is recorded at frequency rank #5,271, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhøːlə]. hole is at rank #7,486, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhoːlə].
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 12757, this pair ranks #1,962,225 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Höhle vs hole
Shared letters: ehl. Private to "Höhle": ö. Private to "hole": o.
"Höhle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- hole ← hhole · hloe · hoel · holle · ohle
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Höhle" and "hole" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Höhle" or "hole" show up more?
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 "Höhle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hole" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,962,225 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Höhle" and "hole" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "haze vs hole". 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 #1,962,225 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.