Which to use
“hic” is an intj and “hiss” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,392
- “hic” frequency rank
- #27,171
- “hiss” frequency rank
- 76563
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hic | hiss |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An approximation to the sound of a hiccup, used e.g. to indicate drunkenness. | A sibilant sound, such as that made by a snake or escaping steam; an unvoiced fricative. |
Where the eye mixes hic and hiss
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. hic runs 3 letters (CVC) against hiss's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses hic with hiss
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hic is /hɪk/ while hiss is /hɪs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76563, 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/. hiss is at rank #27,171, tagged as anoun, pronounced /hɪs/.
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 76563, this pair ranks #29,756 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hic vs hiss
Shared letters: hi. Private to "hic": c. Private to "hiss": s.
"hic" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hiss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hiss ← hhiss · hsis · ihss
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hic" for "hiss" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "hic" or "hiss" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hiss" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,756 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hic" and "hiss" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hic vs HIIT". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #29,756 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.