hörtenvshostelWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#11,457
“hörten” frequency rank
#31,620
“hostel” frequency rank
43077
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hörten hostel
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs hören günstige Unterkunft besonders für Studenten und Schüler; Jugendherberge

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
hörten
6 ch
hostel

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hörten is [ˈhøːɐ̯tn̩] while hostel is [ˈɦɔstɛl]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43077, 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]. hostel is at rank #31,620, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɦɔstɛl].

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 43077, this pair ranks #1,429,327 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hörten vs hostel

Shared letters: eht. Private to "hörten": nrö. Private to "hostel": los.

"hörten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "hostel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hostelhhostel · hosetl · hosstel · hostell · hostle · hosttel · hotsel · hsotel

Frequency comparison

hörten#11,457
hostel#31,620

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hörten" and "hostel" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hörten" is a verb and "hostel" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hörten" or "hostel"?
"hörten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,457 in our German list, against #31,620 for "hostel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hörten vs hostel

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 “hostel”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list