hörvshöreTell them apart

Which to use

“hör” and “höre” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,601
“hör” frequency rank
#2,115
“höre” frequency rank
4716
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hör höre
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hören 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hören

Where the eye mixes hör and höre

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

3 ch
hör
4 ch
höre

Look-alike desk: hör vs höre

A purely visual mix-up. hör ([høːɐ̯]) and höre ([ˈhøːʁə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “hör” sits inside “höre”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4716, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hör is recorded at frequency rank #2,601, classified as averb, pronounced [høːɐ̯]. höre is at rank #2,115, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhøːʁə].

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 4716, this pair ranks #1,996,885 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hör vs höre

Shared letters: hrö. Private to "hör": -. Private to "höre": e.

"hör" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "höre" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "hör" and "höre" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([høːɐ̯] versus [ˈhøːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hör" or "höre"?
"höre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,115 in our German list, against #2,601 for "hör". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hör" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "höre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,996,885 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hör" and "höre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "haze vs höre". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,996,885 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list