hart

/hɑːt/

//hɑːt// noun

"hart" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hart” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,692. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,692
frequency rank, English
23,837
“H” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A male deer, especially the male of the red deer after his fifth year.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hart · hart · English

hart · rank #6,692 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,692
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 23,837
  • PHOTO-FINISH harper

Nearest frequency peer: harper (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “hart”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “hart” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hart vs HR
0% similar
hart vs has
50% similar
hart vs her
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hart
PropertyValue
Headwordhart
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hɑːt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#6,692
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hart” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). hart lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around hart (IPA /hɑːt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,692 among 23,837 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for hart, with forms such as "ahrt", "harrt", and "hartt". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "HR", "has", "her", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hert, from Old English heorot (“stag”), from Proto-West Germanic *herut, from Proto-Germanic *herutaz (compare Dutch hert, German Hirsch, Danish/Norwegian/Swedish hjort), from Pre-Germanic *kerudos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“hor… The correct English form is hart, spelled H-A-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male deer, especially the male of the red deer after his fifth year.
  2. 2
    The meat from this animal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hart appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. With milke-white Hartes vpon an Iuorie ſled, Thou ſhalt be drawen amidſt the froſen Pooles, And ſcale the yſie mountaines lofty tops: Which with thy beautie will be soone reſolu’d.
  2. Then, finding Herds of luſtie Deare, / She Huntreſſe-like the Hart purſues; […]

Etymology

From Middle English hert, from Old English heorot (“stag”), from Proto-West Germanic *herut, from Proto-Germanic *herutaz (compare Dutch hert, German Hirsch, Danish/Norwegian/Swedish hjort), from Pre-Germanic *kerudos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“horn”). Doublet of Heorot. Cognates Compare Welsh carw (“deer”), Latin cervus (“deer”), cervīx (“nape of the neck”), Lithuanian kárvė (“cow”), Russian коро́ва (koróva, “cow”), Ancient Greek κόρυδος (kórudos, “crested lark”), κορυφή (koruphḗ, “summit, crown of the head”), κορύπτω (korúptō, “to butt with horns”), Avestan 𐬯𐬭𐬏 (srū), 𐬯𐬭𐬎𐬎𐬁 (sruuā, “horn; claw, talon”), Sanskrit शरभ (śarabhá, “mythical antelope”). More at horn.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ahrt
  • harrt
  • hartt
  • hatr
  • hhart
  • hrat

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hart - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ahrt2harrt1hartt1hatr2hhart1hrat2
Edit distance from "hart"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hart"?
"hart" is spelled H-A-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is /hɑːt/.
What does "hart" mean?
As a noun, "hart" means: A male deer, especially the male of the red deer after his fifth year.
What words are commonly confused with "hart"?
"hart" is commonly confused with "HR", "has", "her". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hart"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hart" is /hɑːt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hart"?
From Middle English hert, from Old English heorot (“stag”), from Proto-West Germanic *herut, from Proto-Germanic *herutaz (compare Dutch hert, German Hirsch, Danish/Norwegian/Swedish hjort), from Pre-Germanic *kerudos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hart", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list