hulavsHulmeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hula is a noun, Hulme is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hula” is a noun and “Hulme” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,583
“hula” frequency rank
#49,407
“Hulme” frequency rank
77990
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hula Hulme
Definition A form of chant and dance, which was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians who originally settled there. A northern suburb of Warrington, Cheshire, England (OS grid ref SJ6091).

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
hula
5 ch
Hulme

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hula is /ˈhuːlə/ while Hulme is /ˈhjuːm/. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77990, 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/. Hulme is at rank #49,407, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈhjuːm/.

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 77990, this pair ranks #25,777 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hula vs Hulme

Shared letters: hlu. Private to "hula": a. Private to "Hulme": em.

"hula" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Hulme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hulahhula · hlua · hulla · uhla
  • Hulmehhulme · hlume · hulem · hullme · hulmme · humle · uhlme

Frequency comparison

hula#28,583
Hulme#49,407

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hula" and "Hulme" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hula" is a noun and "Hulme" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hula" or "Hulme"?
"hula" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,583 in our English list, against #49,407 for "Hulme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hula vs Hulme

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “hula”; for a name, it's “Hulme”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list