Which to use
“His” and “hug” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,079
- “His” frequency rank
- #25,600
- “hug” frequency rank
- 33679
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | His | hug |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ton mit 264 Hz und alle Töne im Oktavabstand dazu, um einen Halbton erhöhtes H | die Umarmung: das Legen von Armen um jemanden |
Where the eye mixes His and hug
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses His with hug
A purely visual mix-up. His ([hɪs]) and hug ([hʌɡ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
His is recorded at frequency rank #8,079, classified as anoun, pronounced [hɪs]. hug is at rank #25,600, tagged as anoun, pronounced [hʌɡ].
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 33679, this pair ranks #1,680,458 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of His vs hug
Shared letters: h. Private to "His": is. Private to "hug": gu.
"His" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hug" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "His" for "hug" ever safe?
Which is more common, "His" or "hug"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "His" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hug" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,680,458 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "His" and "hug" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "höh vs hug". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,680,458 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.