Which to use
“ham” is a noun and “hi” is a phrase - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,294
- “ham” frequency rank
- #2,300
- “hi” frequency rank
- 12594
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ham | hi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | äußerste Hautschicht bei Amphibien und Reptilien; Haut | freundschaftliche, familiäre mündliche Begrüßung bei persönlichen Begegnungen und Telefongesprächen, bei denen der Angerufene weiß, wer ihn anruft (so dass auf eine Nennung des Namens verzichtet werden kann) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ham and hi apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
ham and hi form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ham is recorded at frequency rank #10,294, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɑmˀ]. hi is at rank #2,300, tagged as aphrase, pronounced [haɪ̯].
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 12594, this pair ranks #1,963,253 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ham" and "hi" be used interchangeably?
Remembering ham vs hi
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “ham”; for a phrase, it's “hi”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ham” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable