Which to use
“hear” is a verb and “hearse” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #588
- “hear” frequency rank
- #37,023
- “hearse” frequency rank
- 37611
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hear | hearse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To perceive sounds through the ear. | A framework of wood or metal placed over the coffin or tomb of a deceased person, and covered with a pall; also, a temporary canopy bearing wax lights and set up in a church, under which the coffin was placed during the funeral ceremonies. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hear and hearse apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
hear and hearse form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “hear” sits inside “hearse” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37611, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hear is recorded at frequency rank #588, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈhɪə/. hearse is at rank #37,023, tagged as anoun, pronounced /hɜːs/.
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 37611, this pair ranks #293,072 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hear" and "hearse" be used interchangeably?
Remembering hear vs hearse
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hear”; for a noun, it's “hearse”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hear” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable