hoivsholdWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hoi is a intj, hold is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hoi” is an intj and “hold” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,901
“hoi” frequency rank
#15,655
“hold” frequency rank
57556
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hoi hold
Definition Ausruf des (freudigen) Erstaunens sehr zart und hübsch

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hoi and hold apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
hoi
4 ch
hold

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hoi is [hɔɪ̯] while hold is [hɔlt]. 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 (intj vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hoi is recorded at frequency rank #41,901, classified as anintj, pronounced [hɔɪ̯]. hold is at rank #15,655, tagged as anadj, pronounced [hɔlt].

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 57556, this pair ranks #896,908 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hoi vs hold

Shared letters: ho. Private to "hoi": i. Private to "hold": dl.

"hoi" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "hold" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • holdhhold · hlod · hodl · holdd · holld · ohld

Frequency comparison

hoi#41,901
hold#15,655

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hoi" and "hold" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hoi" is an intj and "hold" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hoi" or "hold"?
"hold" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,655 in our German list, against #41,901 for "hoi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hoi vs hold

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “hoi”; for an adjective, it's “hold”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hoi” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list