Hair or hare?
hair is a noun meaning “A pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of…”; hare is a noun meaning “Any of several plant-eating mammals of the genus Lepus, similar to a rabbit…”. They sound the same (/ˈhɛə/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) hair is about 26 times as common as hare.
What is the difference between hair and hare?
| hair | hare | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb, adjective |
| Meaning | A pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of humans and other mammals The collection or mass of such growths growing from the skin of humans and animals, and forming a covering for any part or the whole body To remove the hair from | Any of several plant-eating mammals of the genus Lepus, similar to a rabbit, but larger and with longer ears The meat from this animal To move swiftly |
| Example | In the western world, women usually have long hair while men usually have short hair | a hare old man |
| Forms | hairs | hares |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɛə/ [ˈhɛə̯] [ˈhɛː] | /hɛə/ /hɛː/ |
| In writing | 120 times per million words | 4.6 times per million words |
Sources: hair and hare in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of hair and hare
hair
- 1
A pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of humans and other mammals
- 2
To remove the hair from
- 3
The collection or mass of such growths growing from the skin of humans and animals, and forming a covering for any part or the whole body
- 4
To grow hair (where there was a bald spot)
- 5
Specifically, the collection of hairs on the top and sides of the human head, growing from the scalp
In the western world, women usually have long hair while men usually have short hair
- 6
To cause to have or bear hair; to provide with hair
- 7
A slender outgrowth from the chitinous cuticle of insects, spiders, crustaceans, and other invertebrates. Such hairs are totally unlike those of vertebrates in structure, composition, and mode of…
- 8
To string the bow for a violin
hare
- 1
Any of several plant-eating mammals of the genus Lepus, similar to a rabbit, but larger and with longer ears
- 2
To move swiftly
- 3
Grey, hoary; grey-haired, venerable (of people)
a hare old man
- 4
The meat from this animal
- 5
Cold, frosty (of weather)
a hare day
- 6
The player in a paperchase, or hare and hounds game, who leaves a trail of paper to be followed
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, hair or hare?
hair appears 120 times per million words; hare 4.6 times per million words.
hair 120 times per million wordshare 4.6 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).