Which to use
“hem” is an intj and “how” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,236
- “hem” frequency rank
- #67
- “how” frequency rank
- 21303
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hem | how |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Used to fill in the gap of a pause with a vocalized sound. | To what degree or extent. |
Where the eye mixes hem and how
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hem is /hɛm/ while how is /haʊ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21303, 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/. how is at rank #67, tagged as anadv, pronounced /haʊ/.
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 21303, this pair ranks #424,856 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hem vs how
Shared letters: h. Private to "hem": em. Private to "how": ow.
"hem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "how" · 3 letters · shape CVC