Which to use
“Hodge” is a name and “hole” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,383
- “Hodge” frequency rank
- #2,206
- “hole” frequency rank
- 22589
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hodge | hole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname originating as a patronymic. | A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; a dent; a depression; a fissure. |
Where the eye mixes Hodge and hole
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Hodge and hole
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hodge is /hɒd͡ʒ/ while hole is /həʊl/. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22589, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hodge is recorded at frequency rank #20,383, classified as aname, pronounced /hɒd͡ʒ/. hole is at rank #2,206, tagged as anoun, pronounced /həʊl/.
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 22589, this pair ranks #415,466 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Hodge vs hole
Shared letters: eho. Private to "Hodge": dg. Private to "hole": l.
"Hodge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Hodge" for "hole" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "Hodge" or "hole" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hodge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hole" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #415,466 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hodge" and "hole" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hodge vs hoke". 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 #415,466 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.