hoi vs hon, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#41,901
“hoi” frequency rank: #40,001
“hon” frequency rank: 81902
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	hoi	hon
Definition	Ausruf des (freudigen) Erstaunens	2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs honen

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch

hoi

3 ch

hon

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hoi is [hɔɪ̯] while hon is [hoːn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “hoi” becomes n in “hon”, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81902, 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]. hon is at rank #40,001, tagged as averb, pronounced [hoːn].

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 81902, this pair ranks #166,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hoi vs hon

Shared letters: ho. Private to "hoi": i. Private to "hon": n.

"hoi" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "hon" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

hoi#41,901

hon#40,001

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hoi" and "hon" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hoi" is an intj and "hon" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "hoi" or "hon"?

"hon" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,001 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 hon

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “hoi”; for a verb, it's “hon”.
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