HöhlenvsHüllenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,311
“Höhlen” frequency rank
#20,302
“Hüllen” frequency rank
32613
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Höhlen Hüllen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Höhle Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Hülle

Where the eye mixes Höhlen and Hüllen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Höhlen and Hüllen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
Höhlen
6 ch
Hüllen

Visual trap between Höhlen and Hüllen

A purely visual mix-up. Höhlen ([ˈhøːlən]) and Hüllen ([ˈhʏlən]) 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 32613, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Höhlen is recorded at frequency rank #12,311, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhøːlən]. Hüllen is at rank #20,302, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhʏlən].

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 32613, this pair ranks #1,703,859 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Höhlen vs Hüllen

Shared letters: ehln. Private to "Höhlen": ö. Private to "Hüllen": ü.

"Höhlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Hüllen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Höhlen" and "Hüllen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhøːlən] versus [ˈhʏlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Höhlen" or "Hüllen"?
"Höhlen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,311 in our German list, against #20,302 for "Hüllen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Höhlen" and "Hüllen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Höhlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Hüllen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,703,859 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Höhlen" and "Hüllen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hüllen vs Hülse". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,703,859 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