hark vs hurl, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#36,592
“hark” frequency rank: #32,438
“hurl” frequency rank: 69030
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	hark	hurl
Definition	To listen attentively.	To throw (something) with force.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

hark

4 ch

hurl

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hark (/hɑː(ɹ)k/) and hurl (/hɜːl/) 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 69030, 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/. hurl is at rank #32,438, tagged as averb, pronounced /hɜːl/.

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 69030, this pair ranks #56,307 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hark vs hurl

Shared letters: hr. Private to "hark": ak. Private to "hurl": lu.

"hark" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "hurl" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

hark ← ahrk · hakr · harkk · harrk · hhark · hrak
hurl ← hhurl · hrul · hulr · hurll · hurrl · uhrl

Frequency comparison

hark#36,592

hurl#32,438

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hark" and "hurl" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/hɑː(ɹ)k/ versus /hɜːl/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "hark" or "hurl"?

"hurl" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,438 in our English list, against #36,592 for "hark". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hark vs hurl

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 “hark” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable