humevshushWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hume is a verb, hush is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hume” is a verb and “hush” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,086
“hume” frequency rank
#38,171
“hush” frequency rank
74257
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hume hush
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de humar. Silencio.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
hume
4 ch
hush

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hume is [ˈume] while hush is /hʌʃ/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74257, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hume is recorded at frequency rank #36,086, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈume]. hush is at rank #38,171, tagged as anoun, pronounced /hʌʃ/.

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 74257, this pair ranks #21,643 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hume vs hush

Shared letters: hu. Private to "hume": em. Private to "hush": s.

"hume" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "hush" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • humehhume · hmue · huem · humme · uhme
  • hushhhush · hsuh · huhs · hushh · hussh · uhsh

Frequency comparison

hume#36,086
hush#38,171

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hume" and "hush" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hume" is a verb and "hush" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hume" or "hush"?
"hume" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,086 in our Spanish list, against #38,171 for "hush". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hume vs hush

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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