hostvshostsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,284
“host” frequency rank
#43,973
“hosts” frequency rank
62257
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature host hosts
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hosen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs host

Letter map: host vs hosts

Shared letters muted; letters that set host and hosts apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.

4 ch
host
5 ch
hosts

Pair insight - host / hosts

host and hosts are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “host” sits inside “hosts”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62257, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

host is recorded at frequency rank #18,284, classified as averb, pronounced [hoːst]. hosts is at rank #43,973, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 62257, this pair ranks #719,591 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of host vs hosts

Shared letters: host. Private to "host": -. Private to "hosts": -.

"host" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "hosts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hosthhost · hosst · hostt · hots · hsot · ohst
  • hostshhosts · hossts · hostss · hostts · hotss · hsots · ohsts

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "host" and "hosts" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “host” sits inside “hosts”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
In ordinary German text, does "host" or "hosts" show up more?
"host" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,284 in our German list, against #43,973 for "hosts". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pair "host" vs "hosts" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "host" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hosts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #719,591 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "host" and "hosts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hosts vs puzzles". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #719,591 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