Which to use
“hark” and “has” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,592
- “hark” frequency rank
- #47
- “has” frequency rank
- 36639
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hark | has |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To listen attentively. | third-person singular simple present indicative of have |
Where the eye mixes hark and has
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hark with has
A purely visual mix-up. hark (/hɑː(ɹ)k/) and has (/hæz/) 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 36639, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hark is recorded at frequency rank #36,592, classified as averb, pronounced /hɑː(ɹ)k/. has is at rank #47, tagged as averb, pronounced /hæz/.
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 36639, this pair ranks #301,459 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hark vs has
Shared letters: ah. Private to "hark": kr. Private to "has": s.
"hark" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "has" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hark ← ahrk · hakr · harkk · harrk · hhark · hrak
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hark" and "has" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "hark" or "has" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hark" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "has" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #301,459 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hark" and "has" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hark vs Hoare". 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 #301,459 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.