hic vs hid, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“hic” is an intj and “hid” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,392
“hic” frequency rank: #9,760
“hid” frequency rank: 59152
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	hic	hid
Definition	An approximation to the sound of a hiccup, used e.g. to indicate drunkenness.	simple past of hide

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hic and hid apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

hic

3 ch

hid

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hic is /hɪk/ while hid is /hɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “hic” becomes d in “hid”, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59152, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hic is recorded at frequency rank #49,392, classified as anintj, pronounced /hɪk/. hid is at rank #9,760, tagged as averb, pronounced /hɪd/.

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 59152, this pair ranks #107,965 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hic vs hid

Shared letters: hi. Private to "hic": c. Private to "hid": d.

"hic" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hid" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

hic#49,392

hid#9,760

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hic" and "hid" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hic" is an intj and "hid" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "hic" or "hid"?

"hid" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,760 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.

Remembering hic vs hid

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “hic”; for a verb, it's “hid”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hic” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable