Which to use
“Hölle” is a noun and “hörte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,897
- “Hölle” frequency rank
- #3,195
- “hörte” frequency rank
- 6092
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hölle | hörte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in vielen Religionen der Ort, an dem Menschen nach dem Tod ewig für ihre Sünden büßen müssen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs hören |
Where the eye mixes Hölle and hörte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Hölle with hörte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hölle is [ˈhœlə] while hörte is [ˈhøːɐ̯tə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6092, 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]. hörte is at rank #3,195, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhøːɐ̯tə].
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 6092, this pair ranks #1,992,744 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Hölle vs hörte
Shared letters: ehö. Private to "Hölle": l. Private to "hörte": rt.
"Hölle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hörte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Hölle" for "hörte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Hölle" or "hörte" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hölle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hörte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,992,744 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hölle" and "hörte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hegte vs hörte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,992,744 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.