hourvshueWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,576
“hour” frequency rank
#43,255
“hue” frequency rank
61831
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hour hue
Definition Stunde Farbschattierung

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hour and hue apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
hour
3 ch
hue

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hour ([aʊə(ɹ)]) and hue ([çu̟ː]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hour is recorded at frequency rank #18,576, classified as anoun, pronounced [aʊə(ɹ)]. hue is at rank #43,255, tagged as anoun, pronounced [çu̟ː].

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 61831, this pair ranks #735,044 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hour vs hue

Shared letters: hu. Private to "hour": or. Private to "hue": e.

"hour" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "hue" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hourhhour · horu · hourr · huor · ohur

Frequency comparison

hour#18,576
hue#43,255

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hour" and "hue" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aʊə(ɹ)] versus [çu̟ː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hour" or "hue"?
"hour" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,576 in our German list, against #43,255 for "hue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hour vs hue

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hour” 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