Which to use
“hole” is a noun and “how” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,206
- “hole” frequency rank
- #67
- “how” frequency rank
- 2273
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hole | how |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; a dent; a depression; a fissure. | To what degree or extent. |
Where the eye mixes hole and how
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hole vs how
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hole is /həʊl/ while how is /haʊ/. 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 adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2273, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hole is recorded at frequency rank #2,206, classified as anoun, pronounced /həʊl/. how is at rank #67, tagged as anadv, pronounced /haʊ/.
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 2273, this pair ranks #525,411 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hole vs how
Shared letters: ho. Private to "hole": el. Private to "how": w.
"hole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "how" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hole ← hhole · hloe · hoel · holle · ohle
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hole" and "how" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hole" or "how"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hole" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "how" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #525,411 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hole" and "how" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hole vs holier". 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 #525,411 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.