hab vs hen, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#9,327
“hab” frequency rank: #46,208
“hen” frequency rank: 55535
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	hab	hen
Definition	Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de haben.	Poule.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hab and hen apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

hab

3 ch

hen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hab is \haːp\ while hen is \ˈhɛn\. 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 55535, 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\. hen is at rank #46,208, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈhɛn\.

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 55535, this pair ranks #126,875 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hab vs hen

Shared letters: h. Private to "hab": ab. Private to "hen": en.

"hab" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hen" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

hab#9,327

hen#46,208

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

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

"hab" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,327 in our French list, against #46,208 for "hen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hab vs hen

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 “hen”.
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