hulavshullsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“hula” and “hulls” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#28,583
“hula” frequency rank
#33,275
“hulls” frequency rank
61858
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hula hulls
Definition A form of chant and dance, which was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians who originally settled there. plural of hull

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
hula
5 ch
hulls

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hula (/ˈhuːlə/) and hulls (/hʌlz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61858, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hula is recorded at frequency rank #28,583, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈhuːlə/. hulls is at rank #33,275, tagged as anoun, pronounced /hʌlz/.

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 61858, this pair ranks #91,809 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hula vs hulls

Shared letters: hlu. Private to "hula": a. Private to "hulls": s.

"hula" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "hulls" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hulahhula · hlua · hulla · uhla
  • hullshhulls · hluls · hullss · huls · hulsl · uhlls

Frequency comparison

hula#28,583
hulls#33,275

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hula" and "hulls" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈhuːlə/ versus /hʌlz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hula" or "hulls"?
"hula" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,583 in our English list, against #33,275 for "hulls". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hula vs hulls

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hula” 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