Which to use
“hospitable” is an adjective and “hospital” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,451
- “hospitable” frequency rank
- #905
- “hospital” frequency rank
- 31356
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hospitable | hospital |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | cordial and generous towards guests | A large medical facility, usually in a building with multiple floors, where seriously ill or injured patients are given extensive medical or surgical treatment. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hospitable and hospital apart are highlighted. They share 8 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: hospitable is /hɒsˈpɪtəbl̩/ while hospital is /ˈhɒs.pɪ.tl̩/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hospitable is recorded at frequency rank #30,451, classified as anadj, pronounced /hɒsˈpɪtəbl̩/. hospital is at rank #905, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈhɒs.pɪ.tl̩/.
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 31356, this pair ranks #346,846 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hospitable vs hospital
Shared letters: ahilopst. Private to "hospitable": be. Private to "hospital": -.
"hospitable" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV · "hospital" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hospitable ← hhospitable · hopsitable · hosiptable · hospiatble · hospitabble · hospitabel · hospitablle · hospitalbe
- hospital ← hhospital · hopsital · hosiptal · hospiatl · hospitall · hospitla · hospittal · hosppital
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hospitable" and "hospital" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hospitable" or "hospital"?
Remembering hospitable vs hospital
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “hospitable”; for a noun, it's “hospital”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hospitable” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable