# hen vs hyena

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### hen
*noun · IPA /hɛn/ · frequency rank #13,733*
A female chicken (Gallus gallus), especially a sexually mature one kept for her eggs.

### hyena
*noun · IPA /haɪˈiːnə/ · frequency rank #37,035*
Any of the medium-sized to large feliform carnivores of the family Hyaenidae, native to Africa and Asia and noted for the sound similar to laughter which they can make if excited.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hyena