hostilvshotelWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hostil is a adjective, hotel is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hostil” is an adjective and “hotel” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,350
“hostil” frequency rank
#1,380
“hotel” frequency rank
11730
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hostil hotel
Definition Que es enemigo o contrario. Palabra clave radiofónica del ICAO y NATO para la letra H.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hostil and hotel apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
hostil
5 ch
hotel

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hostil is [osˈt̪il] while hotel is [hoˈtɛl]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11730, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hostil is recorded at frequency rank #10,350, classified as anadj, pronounced [osˈt̪il]. hotel is at rank #1,380, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hoˈtɛl].

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 11730, this pair ranks #294,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hostil vs hotel

Shared letters: hlot. Private to "hostil": is. Private to "hotel": e.

"hostil" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "hotel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hostilhhostil · hositl · hosstil · hostill · hostli · hosttil · hotsil · hsotil
  • hotelhhotel · hoetl · hotell · hotle · hottel · htoel · ohtel

Frequency comparison

hostil#10,350
hotel#1,380

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hostil" and "hotel" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hostil" is an adjective and "hotel" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hostil" or "hotel"?
"hotel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,380 in our Spanish list, against #10,350 for "hostil". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hostil vs hotel

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “hostil”; for a noun, it's “hotel”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hostil” 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