# haw vs hew

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### haw
*intj · IPA /hɔː/ · frequency rank #25,402*
An imitation of laughter, often used to express scorn or disbelief. Often doubled or tripled (haw haw or haw haw haw).

### hew
*verb · IPA /hjuː/ · frequency rank #46,513*
To chop away at; to whittle down; to mow down.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haw-vs-hew