hum

^((h aspiré))\œm\

/^((h aspiré))\œm\/ intj

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

The verdict

“hum” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #5,875 in French word frequency and used as an interjection.

#5,875
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Interjection qui marque doute, réticence, impatience.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

hum vs Hz
0% similar
hum vs hy
33% similar
hum vs Hut
33% similar

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

Key facts for hum
PropertyValue
Headwordhum
LanguageFrench
Part of speechInterjection
IPA^((h aspiré))\œm\
Letters3
Frequency rank#5,875
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hum” sits in French 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). hum lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for hum is 3 letters long, classified as an interjection, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as ^((h aspiré))\œm\. Corpus data places it at rank #5,875 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Zero misspellings are on record for hum in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Hz", "hy", "Hut", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is hum, spelled H-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Interjection qui marque doute, réticence, impatience.
  2. 2
    Marque d’un certain plaisir à ressentir quelque chose, odeurs, sensations, etc. Notes : dans ce cas se prononce généralement différemment ^((h aspiré))\œ:m\.

Synonyms

heu

This word in other languages

ahem(English)

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hum"?
"hum" is spelled H-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is ^((h aspiré))\œm\.
What does "hum" mean?
As an interjection, "hum" means: Interjection qui marque doute, réticence, impatience.
What words are commonly confused with "hum"?
"hum" is commonly confused with "Hz", "hy", "Hut". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hum"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hum" is ^((h aspiré))\œm\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "hum" come from?
"hum" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “hum”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is H-U-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as ^((h aspiré))\œm\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Hz” - see the side-by-side comparison. hum vs Hz
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list