Which to use
“hem” and “hic” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,236
- “hem” frequency rank
- #49,392
- “hic” frequency rank
- 70628
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hem | hic |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Used to fill in the gap of a pause with a vocalized sound. | An approximation to the sound of a hiccup, used e.g. to indicate drunkenness. |
Where the eye mixes hem and hic
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. hem and hic follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses hem with hic
A purely visual mix-up. hem (/hɛm/) and hic (/hɪk/) 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 70628, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hem is recorded at frequency rank #21,236, classified as anintj, pronounced /hɛm/. hic is at rank #49,392, tagged as anintj, pronounced /hɪk/.
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 70628, this pair ranks #49,784 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hem vs hic
Shared letters: h. Private to "hem": em. Private to "hic": ci.
"hem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hic" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hem" for "hic" ever safe?
Frequency check: "hem" vs "hic" - 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 "hem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hic" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,784 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hem" and "hic" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hic vs HIIT". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #49,784 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.