haw

/hɔː/

//hɔː// intj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"haw" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“haw” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #25,402) as an interjection. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#25,402
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An imitation of laughter, often used to express scorn or disbelief. Often doubled or tripled (haw haw or haw haw haw).

Corpus desk

Index EN-haw · haw · English

haw · rank #25,402 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,402
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hearth

Nearest frequency peer: hearth (+2 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 neighbours of confusable “haw”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “haw” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

haw vs he
33% similar
haw vs hi
33% similar
haw vs HD
0% similar

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

Key facts for haw
PropertyValue
Headwordhaw
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/hɔː/
Letters3
Frequency rank#25,402
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “haw”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “hearth” (#25,404), “heathen” (#25,405), “gust” (#25,398). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “haw” is #25,402. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for haw is neighbouring look-alikes ("he", "hi", …), not just typos; it is aninterjection pronounced /hɔː/. Frequency #25,402 among 2,646 “H” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Zero misspellings are on record for haw in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "he", "hi", "HD", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ha (interjection). Compare Old Norse há (interjection), Middle Low German ha, hā (interjection), Old High German aha, hei (interjection). The correct English form is haw, spelled H-A-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    An imitation of laughter, often used to express scorn or disbelief. Often doubled or tripled (haw haw or haw haw haw).
  2. 2
    An intermission or hesitation of speech, with a sound somewhat like "haw"; the sound so made.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. You think that song was good? Haw!
  2. The bitter laugh laughs at that which is not good, it is the ethical laugh. The hollow laugh laughs at that which is not true, it is the intellectual laugh. Not good! Not true! Well well. But the mirthless laugh is the dianoetic laugh, down the snout — Haw! — so.

Etymology

From Middle English ha (interjection). Compare Old Norse há (interjection), Middle Low German ha, hā (interjection), Old High German aha, hei (interjection).

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "haw"?
"haw" is spelled H-A-W. The IPA pronunciation is /hɔː/.
What does "haw" mean?
As an interjection, "haw" means: An imitation of laughter, often used to express scorn or disbelief. Often doubled or tripled (haw haw or haw haw haw).
What words are commonly confused with "haw"?
"haw" is commonly confused with "he", "hi", "HD". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "haw"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "haw" is /hɔː/. 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 "haw"?
From Middle English ha (interjection). Compare Old Norse há (interjection), Middle Low German ha, hā (interjection), Old High German aha, hei (interjection). 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 "haw", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Hou#25,415fob#25,388IRC#25,427ISI#25,430

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list