hallowsvshollowWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“hallows” and “hollow” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#39,344
“hallows” frequency rank
#7,697
“hollow” frequency rank
47041
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hallows hollow
Definition plural of hallow A small valley between mountains.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hallows and hollow apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
hallows
6 ch
hollow

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hallows (/ˈhæləʊz/) and hollow (/ˈhɒl.əʊ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47041, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hallows is recorded at frequency rank #39,344, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈhæləʊz/. hollow is at rank #7,697, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈhɒl.əʊ/.

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 47041, this pair ranks #206,115 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hallows vs hollow

Shared letters: hlow. Private to "hallows": as. Private to "hollow": -.

"hallows" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "hollow" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hallowsahllows · hallosw · hallowss · hallowws · hallwos · halolws · halows · hhallows
  • hollowhhollow · hlolow · holloww · hollwo · hololw · holow · ohllow

Frequency comparison

hallows#39,344
hollow#7,697

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hallows" and "hollow" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈhæləʊz/ versus /ˈhɒl.əʊ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hallows" or "hollow"?
"hollow" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,697 in our English list, against #39,344 for "hallows". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hallows vs hollow

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hallows” 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