Which to use
“Hobbs” is a name and “hours” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,239
- “Hobbs” frequency rank
- #388
- “hours” frequency rank
- 21627
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hobbs | hours |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname originating as a patronymic. | plural of hour |
Letter map: Hobbs vs hours
Shared letters muted; letters that set Hobbs and hours apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Grammar separator: Hobbs vs hours
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Hobbs is aname and hoursanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21627, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hobbs is recorded at frequency rank #21,239, classified as aname. hours is at rank #388, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaʊə(ɹ)z/.
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 21627, this pair ranks #422,512 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Hobbs vs hours
Shared letters: hos. Private to "Hobbs": b. Private to "hours": ru.
"Hobbs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "hours" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Hobbs" and "hours" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "Hobbs" or "hours" show up more?
What to do next
You've compared "Hobbs" and "hours". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hobbs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hours" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #422,512 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hobbs" and "hours" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hobbs vs hocus". 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 #422,512 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.