Which to use
“hair” is a noun and “hic” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #876
- “hair” frequency rank
- #49,392
- “hic” frequency rank
- 50268
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hair | hic |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of humans and other mammals. | An approximation to the sound of a hiccup, used e.g. to indicate drunkenness. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hair and hic apart are highlighted. They share 2 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: hair is /hɛə/ while hic is /hɪk/. 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 (noun vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50268, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hair is recorded at frequency rank #876, classified as anoun, pronounced /hɛə/. hic is at rank #49,392, tagged as anintj, pronounced /hɪk/.
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 50268, this pair ranks #175,834 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hair vs hic
Shared letters: hi. Private to "hair": ar. Private to "hic": c.
"hair" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "hic" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hair ← ahir · hairr · hhair · hiar
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hair" and "hic" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hair" or "hic"?
Remembering hair vs hic
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “hair”; for an intj, it's “hic”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hair” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable