hhhvshicConfusable pair

Which to use

“hhh” and “hic” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#46,514
“hhh” frequency rank
#49,392
“hic” frequency rank
95906
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hhh hic
Definition A sigh; indicates distress, discomfort, boredom or confusion. An approximation to the sound of a hiccup, used e.g. to indicate drunkenness.

Letter map: hhh vs hic

Shared letters muted; letters that set hhh and hic apart highlighted. Shared run: 1. hhh (CCC) and hic (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

3 ch
hhh
3 ch
hic

Spelling & dictionary notes on hhh vs hic

hhh and hic are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 95906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hhh is recorded at frequency rank #46,514, classified as anintj. 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 95906, this pair ranks #783 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hhh vs hic

Shared letters: h. Private to "hhh": -. Private to "hic": ci.

"hhh" · 3 letters · shape CCC  ·  "hic" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "hhh" and "hic" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "hhh" or "hic"?
"hhh" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #46,514 in our English list, against #49,392 for "hic". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "hhh" and "hic".

  • Full dictionary entry for "hhh" 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 #783 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hhh" and "hic" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hic vs HIIT". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #783 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list