Hoffnung
[ˈhɔfnʊŋ]
The verdict
“Hoffnung” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #1,327 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,327
- frequency rank, German
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Glaube beziehungsweise Erwartung eines erwünschten Ereignisses in der Zukunft, ohne dass Gewissheit darüber besteht, ob es auch wirklich eintreten wird
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Hoffnung |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈhɔfnʊŋ] |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #1,327 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Hoffnung” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Hoffnung is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈhɔfnʊŋ]. Corpus data places it at rank #1,327 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Hoffnung, with forms such as "hfofnung", "hhoffnung", and "hoffnnug". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Hornung", "Hoffnungen", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is Hoffnung, spelled H-O-F-F-N-U-N-G.
Definition
- 1Glaube beziehungsweise Erwartung eines erwünschten Ereignisses in der Zukunft, ohne dass Gewissheit darüber besteht, ob es auch wirklich eintreten wird
- 2Mensch, Gegenstand oder Handlung, der oder die zu solchem Glauben Anlass gibt
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hfofnung,hhoffnung,hoffnnug,hoffnnung,hoffnugn,hoffnungg,hoffnunng,hoffunng,hofnfung,hofnung,ohffnung
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Hoffnung - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "Hoffnung"?
What does "Hoffnung" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Hoffnung"?
How do you pronounce "Hoffnung"?
What language does "Hoffnung" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Hoffnung”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is H-O-F-F-N-U-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈhɔfnʊŋ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Hornung” - see the side-by-side comparison. Hoffnung vs Hornung
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.