hörtenvsHosenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hörten is a verb, Hosen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hörten” is a verb and “Hosen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,457
“hörten” frequency rank
#5,089
“Hosen” frequency rank
16546
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hörten Hosen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs hören Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Hose

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
hörten
5 ch
Hosen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hörten is [ˈhøːɐ̯tn̩] while Hosen is [ˈhoːzn̩]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16546, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hörten is recorded at frequency rank #11,457, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhøːɐ̯tn̩]. Hosen is at rank #5,089, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhoːzn̩].

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 16546, this pair ranks #1,934,956 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hörten vs Hosen

Shared letters: ehn. Private to "hörten": rtö. Private to "Hosen": os.

"hörten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Hosen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hosenhhosen · hoesn · hosenn · hosne · hossen · hsoen · ohsen

Frequency comparison

hörten#11,457
Hosen#5,089

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hörten" and "Hosen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hörten" is a verb and "Hosen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hörten" or "Hosen"?
"Hosen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,089 in our German list, against #11,457 for "hörten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hörten vs Hosen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hörten”; for a noun, it's “Hosen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hörten” 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