Which to use
“hoard” is a noun and “hoarse” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,540
- “hoard” frequency rank
- #43,691
- “hoarse” frequency rank
- 65231
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hoard | hoarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A hidden supply or fund. | Having a dry, harsh tone to the voice, as a result of a sore throat, age, emotion, etc. |
Where the eye mixes hoard and hoarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hoard runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against hoarse's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses hoard with hoarse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hoard is /hɔɹd/ while hoarse is /hɔːs/. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65231, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hoard is recorded at frequency rank #21,540, classified as anoun, pronounced /hɔɹd/. hoarse is at rank #43,691, tagged as anadj, pronounced /hɔːs/.
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 65231, this pair ranks #73,816 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hoard vs hoarse
Shared letters: ahor. Private to "hoard": d. Private to "hoarse": es.
"hoard" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "hoarse" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hoard" for "hoarse" ever safe?
Frequency check: "hoard" vs "hoarse" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hoard" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hoarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #73,816 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hoard" and "hoarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hoare vs hoarse". 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 #73,816 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.