Which to use
“hearts” is a noun and “hurts” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,367
- “hearts” frequency rank
- #4,309
- “hurts” frequency rank
- 7676
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hearts | hurts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of heart | third-person singular simple present indicative of hurt |
Where the eye mixes hearts and hurts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hearts runs 6 letters (CVVCCC) against hurts's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses hearts with hurts
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hearts is /hɑːts/ while hurts is /hɜːts/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7676, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hearts is recorded at frequency rank #3,367, classified as anoun, pronounced /hɑːts/. hurts is at rank #4,309, tagged as averb, pronounced /hɜːts/.
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 7676, this pair ranks #506,082 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hearts vs hurts
Shared letters: hrst. Private to "hearts": ae. Private to "hurts": u.
"hearts" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC · "hurts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hearts" for "hurts" ever safe?
Which is more common, "hearts" or "hurts"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hearts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hurts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #506,082 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hearts" and "hurts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "humps vs hurts". 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 #506,082 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.