Which to use
“hock” is a noun and “hocus” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,339
- “hock” frequency rank
- #48,804
- “hocus” frequency rank
- 84143
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hock | hocus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A Rhenish wine, of a light yellow color, either sparkling or still, from the Hochheim region; often applied to all Rhenish wines. | To play a trick on, to trick (someone); to hoax; to cheat. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hock and hocus apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hock is /hɒk/ while hocus is /ˈhəʊkəs/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84143, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hock is recorded at frequency rank #35,339, classified as anoun, pronounced /hɒk/. hocus is at rank #48,804, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈhəʊkəs/.
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 84143, this pair ranks #12,566 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hock vs hocus
Shared letters: cho. Private to "hock": k. Private to "hocus": su.
"hock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "hocus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hock" and "hocus" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hock" or "hocus"?
Remembering hock vs hocus
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “hock”; for a verb, it's “hocus”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hock” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable