HöllevshollowWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Hölle is a noun, hollow is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Hölle” is a noun and “hollow” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,897
“Hölle” frequency rank
#37,571
“hollow” frequency rank
40468
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hölle hollow
Definition in vielen Religionen der Ort, an dem Menschen nach dem Tod ewig für ihre Sünden büßen müssen hohl, ausgehöhlt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Hölle and hollow apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Hölle
6 ch
hollow

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hölle is [ˈhœlə] while hollow is [ˈhɒləʊ]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40468, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hölle is recorded at frequency rank #2,897, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhœlə]. hollow is at rank #37,571, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɒləʊ].

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 40468, this pair ranks #1,507,611 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hölle vs hollow

Shared letters: hl. Private to "Hölle": . Private to "hollow": ow.

"Hölle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "hollow" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hollowhhollow · hlolow · holloww · hollwo · hololw · holow · ohllow

Frequency comparison

Hölle#2,897
hollow#37,571

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hölle" and "hollow" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Hölle" is a noun and "hollow" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Hölle" or "hollow"?
"Hölle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,897 in our German list, against #37,571 for "hollow". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Hölle vs hollow

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Hölle”; for an adjective, it's “hollow”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Hölle” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list