HamervsHawesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#47,086
“Hamer” frequency rank
#37,965
“Hawes” frequency rank
85051
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hamer Hawes
Definition A surname. A small market town and civil parish (served by Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council) in North Yorkshire, England, previously in Richmondshire district (OS grid ref SD8789).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Hamer and Hawes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Hamer
5 ch
Hawes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Hamer (/ˈheɪmər/) and Hawes (/ˈhɔːz/) 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 85051, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hamer is recorded at frequency rank #47,086, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈheɪmər/. Hawes is at rank #37,965, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈhɔːz/.

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 85051, this pair ranks #11,022 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Hamer vs Hawes

Shared letters: aeh. Private to "Hamer": mr. Private to "Hawes": sw.

"Hamer" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Hawes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hamerahmer · haemr · hamerr · hamre · hhamer · hmaer
  • Hawesahwes · haews · hawess · hawse · hawwes · hhawes · hwaes

Frequency comparison

Hamer#47,086
Hawes#37,965

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hamer" and "Hawes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈheɪmər/ versus /ˈhɔːz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Hamer" or "Hawes"?
"Hawes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,965 in our English list, against #47,086 for "Hamer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Hamer vs Hawes

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 “Hamer” 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