hollavshowlsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: holla is a intj, howls is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“holla” is an intj and “howls” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,397
“holla” frequency rank
#37,974
“howls” frequency rank
87371
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature holla howls
Definition Alternative form of hollo. plural of howl

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set holla and howls apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
holla
5 ch
howls

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: holla is /ˈhɒlə/ while howls is /haʊlz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 87371, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

holla is recorded at frequency rank #49,397, classified as anintj, pronounced /ˈhɒlə/. howls is at rank #37,974, tagged as anoun, pronounced /haʊlz/.

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 87371, this pair ranks #7,687 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of holla vs howls

Shared letters: hlo. Private to "holla": a. Private to "howls": sw.

"holla" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "howls" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hollahholla · hlola · holal · ohlla
  • howlshhowls · holws · howlls · howlss · howsl · howwls · hwols · ohwls

Frequency comparison

holla#49,397
howls#37,974

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "holla" and "howls" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "holla" is an intj and "howls" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "holla" or "howls"?
"howls" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,974 in our English list, against #49,397 for "holla". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering holla vs howls

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “holla”; for a noun, it's “howls”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “holla” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list