Which to use
“hears” is a verb and “hoarse” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,903
- “hears” frequency rank
- #43,691
- “hoarse” frequency rank
- 53594
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hears | hoarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of hear | Having a dry, harsh tone to the voice, as a result of a sore throat, age, emotion, etc. |
Where the eye mixes hears and hoarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hears vs hoarse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hears is /hɪə(ɹ)z/ while hoarse is /hɔːs/. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hears is recorded at frequency rank #9,903, classified as averb, pronounced /hɪə(ɹ)z/. hoarse is at rank #43,691, tagged as anadj, pronounced /hɔːs/.
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 53594, this pair ranks #147,736 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hears vs hoarse
Shared letters: aehrs. Private to "hears": -. Private to "hoarse": o.
"hears" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "hoarse" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hears" for "hoarse" ever safe?
Frequency check: "hears" vs "hoarse" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hears" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hoarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #147,736 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hears" and "hoarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hoare vs hoarse". 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 #147,736 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.