Which to use
“hes” is a determiner and “how” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,568
- “hes” frequency rank
- #67
- “how” frequency rank
- 7635
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hes | how |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alternative form of his when pronounced as he's; belonging to him. | To what degree or extent. |
Where the eye mixes hes and how
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hes vs how
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hes is /hiːz/ 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 (determiner vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7635, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hes is recorded at frequency rank #7,568, classified as adet, pronounced /hiːz/. 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 7635, this pair ranks #506,261 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hes vs how
Shared letters: h. Private to "hes": es. Private to "how": ow.
"hes" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "how" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hes" and "how" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "hes" vs "how" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "hes" and "how" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "hes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "how" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #506,261 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hes" and "how" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hes vs HRW". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #506,261 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.