Which to use
“hic” is an intj and “hos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,392
- “hic” frequency rank
- #31,601
- “hos” frequency rank
- 80993
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hic | hos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An approximation to the sound of a hiccup, used e.g. to indicate drunkenness. | plural of ho |
Letter map: hic vs hos
Shared letters muted; letters that set hic and hos apart highlighted. Shared run: 1. hic and hos follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Grammar separator: hic vs hos
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: hic is anintj and hosanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80993, 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/. hos is at rank #31,601, tagged as anoun.
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 80993, this pair ranks #18,658 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hic vs hos
Shared letters: h. Private to "hic": ci. Private to "hos": os.
"hic" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hic" and "hos" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "hic" or "hos" show up more?
After this comparison
Pair "hic" vs "hos" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "hic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,658 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hic" and "hos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hic vs HIIT". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #18,658 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.