hic vs hoa, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#49,392
“hic” frequency rank: #27,495
“hoa” frequency rank: 76887
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	hic	hoa
Definition	An approximation to the sound of a hiccup, used e.g. to indicate drunkenness.	ho; hey; a call for attention

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hic and hoa apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

hic

3 ch

hoa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hic (/hɪk/) and hoa (/həʊ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76887, 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/. hoa is at rank #27,495, tagged as anintj, pronounced /həʊ/.

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 76887, this pair ranks #28,841 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hic vs hoa

Shared letters: h. Private to "hic": ci. Private to "hoa": ao.

"hic" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hoa" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

hic#49,392

hoa#27,495

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

No. They are said differently (/hɪk/ versus /həʊ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

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

"hoa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,495 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 hoa

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
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