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 eye mixes hark and hurl
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. hark and hurl follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between hark and hurl
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hark" and "hurl" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "hark" vs "hurl" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "hark" and "hurl" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "hark" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hurl" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #56,307 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hark" and "hurl" 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 #56,307 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.