Which to use
“hole” is a verb and “holy” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,486
- “hole” frequency rank
- #14,833
- “holy” frequency rank
- 22319
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hole | holy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs holen | heilig |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hole and holy apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: hole is averb and holyanadjective. On the page they differ by a single letter - e in “hole” becomes y in “holy”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22319, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hole is recorded at frequency rank #7,486, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhoːlə]. holy is at rank #14,833, tagged as anadj, pronounced […].
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 22319, this pair ranks #1,875,605 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hole vs holy
Shared letters: hlo. Private to "hole": e. Private to "holy": y.
"hole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "holy" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hole" and "holy" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hole" or "holy"?
Remembering hole vs holy
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hole”; for an adjective, it's “holy”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hole” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable