hangvshaoConfusable pair

Quick tell: hang is a verb, hao is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hang” is a verb and “hao” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,487
“hang” frequency rank
#31,588
“hao” frequency rank
34075
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hang hao
Definition To be or remain suspended. A former currency unit of Vietnam, worth one tenth of a dong.

Letter map: hang vs hao

Shared letters muted; letters that set hang and hao apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
hang
3 ch
hao

Grammar separator: hang vs hao

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: hang is averb and haoanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hang is recorded at frequency rank #2,487, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈhæŋ/. hao is at rank #31,588, tagged as anoun.

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 34075, this pair ranks #323,876 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hang vs hao

Shared letters: ah. Private to "hang": gn. Private to "hao": o.

"hang" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "hao" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hangahng · hagn · hangg · hanng · hhang · hnag

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hang" and "hao" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hang" is a verb and "hao" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "hang" vs "hao" - which ranks higher?
"hang" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,487 in our English list, against #31,588 for "hao". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "hang" and "hao".

  • Full dictionary entry for "hang" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hao" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #323,876 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hang" and "hao" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hao vs HRW". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #323,876 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list