Which to use
“hooray” and “hurray” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,403
- “hooray” frequency rank
- #33,677
- “hurray” frequency rank
- 56080
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hooray | hurray |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Used to express approval, joy or victory. | Alternative form of hooray. |
Same sound, different letters: hooray vs hurray
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 4 letters. hooray (CVVCVV) and hurray (CVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Same sound, different spelling - hooray / hurray
This is the hard kind. hooray and hurray are pronounced identically (/həˈɹeɪ/) and both work as anintj. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56080, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hooray is recorded at frequency rank #22,403, classified as anintj, pronounced /həˈɹeɪ/. hurray is at rank #33,677, tagged as anintj, pronounced /həˈɹeɪ/.
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 56080, this pair ranks #128,862 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hooray vs hurray
Shared letters: ahry. Private to "hooray": o. Private to "hurray": u.
"hooray" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV · "hurray" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hooray" and "hurray" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "hooray" vs "hurray" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
"hooray" and "hurray" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "hooray" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hurray" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #128,862 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hooray" and "hurray" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hooray vs hora". 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 #128,862 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.