harkvshorWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hark is a verb, hor is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hark” is a verb and “hor” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,592
“hark” frequency rank
#45,433
“hor” frequency rank
82025
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hark hor
Definition To listen attentively. her

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hark and hor apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
hark
3 ch
hor

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hark is /hɑː(ɹ)k/ while hor is /høː/. 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 (verb vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82025, 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/. hor is at rank #45,433, tagged as apron, pronounced /høː/.

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 82025, this pair ranks #16,546 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hark vs hor

Shared letters: hr. Private to "hark": ak. Private to "hor": o.

"hark" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "hor" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • harkahrk · hakr · harkk · harrk · hhark · hrak

Frequency comparison

hark#36,592
hor#45,433

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hark" and "hor" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hark" is a verb and "hor" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hark" or "hor"?
"hark" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,592 in our English list, against #45,433 for "hor". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hark vs hor

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hark”; for a pronoun, it's “hor”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hark” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list