Which to use
“heard” is a verb and “heavy” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,048
- “heard” frequency rank
- #11,422
- “heavy” frequency rank
- 60470
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | heard | heavy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pasado simple del verbo (to) hear. | Pesado. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set heard and heavy apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: heard is /hɜːd/ while heavy is /ˈhɛv.i/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60470, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
heard is recorded at frequency rank #49,048, classified as averb, pronounced /hɜːd/. heavy is at rank #11,422, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈhɛv.i/.
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 60470, this pair ranks #58,837 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of heard vs heavy
Shared letters: aeh. Private to "heard": dr. Private to "heavy": vy.
"heard" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "heavy" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "heard" and "heavy" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "heard" or "heavy"?
Remembering heard vs heavy
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “heard”; for an adjective, it's “heavy”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “heard” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable