hab vs hae, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#9,327
“hab” frequency rank: #49,121
“hae” frequency rank: 58448
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	hab	hae
Definition	Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de haben.	Kava.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch

hab

3 ch

hae

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hab is \haːp\ while hae is \hae\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “hab” becomes e in “hae”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58448, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hab is recorded at frequency rank #9,327, classified as averb, pronounced \haːp\. hae is at rank #49,121, tagged as anoun, pronounced \hae\.

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 58448, this pair ranks #109,031 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hab vs hae

Shared letters: ah. Private to "hab": b. Private to "hae": e.

"hab" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hae" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

hab#9,327

hae#49,121

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hab" and "hae" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hab" is a verb and "hae" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "hab" or "hae"?

"hab" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,327 in our French list, against #49,121 for "hae". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hab vs hae

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hab”; for a noun, it's “hae”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hab” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable