haovshiloWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hao is a intj, hilo is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hao” is an intj and “hilo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,863
“hao” frequency rank
#3,789
“hilo” frequency rank
44652
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hao hilo
Definition Se usaba para llamar a uno que estuviese distante. Fibra textil delgada, formada por pocas hebras, de largo variable.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hao and hilo apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
hao
4 ch
hilo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hao is [ˈao] while hilo is [ˈilo]. 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 (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44652, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hao is recorded at frequency rank #40,863, classified as anintj, pronounced [ˈao]. hilo is at rank #3,789, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈilo].

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 44652, this pair ranks #135,879 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hao vs hilo

Shared letters: ho. Private to "hao": a. Private to "hilo": il.

"hao" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "hilo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hilohhilo · hillo · hiol · hlio · ihlo

Frequency comparison

hao#40,863
hilo#3,789

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hao" and "hilo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hao" is an intj and "hilo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hao" or "hilo"?
"hilo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,789 in our Spanish list, against #40,863 for "hao". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering hao vs hilo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “hao”; for a noun, it's “hilo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hao” 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