Which to use
“Hölzern” is a noun and “hölzerne” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,583
- “Hölzern” frequency rank
- #24,388
- “hölzerne” frequency rank
- 66971
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hölzern | hölzerne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Holz | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hölzern |
Where the eye mixes Hölzern and hölzerne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Hölzern with hölzerne
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hölzern is [ˈhœlt͡sɐn] while hölzerne is [ˈhœlt͡sɐnə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Hölzern” sits inside “hölzerne”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66971, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hölzern is recorded at frequency rank #42,583, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhœlt͡sɐn]. hölzerne is at rank #24,388, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhœlt͡sɐnə].
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 66971, this pair ranks #555,562 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Hölzern vs hölzerne
Shared letters: ehlnrzö. Private to "Hölzern": -. Private to "hölzerne": -.
"Hölzern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "hölzerne" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Hölzern" for "hölzerne" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Hölzern" vs "hölzerne" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hölzern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hölzerne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #555,562 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hölzern" and "hölzerne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hölzern vs Hörern". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #555,562 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.