Which to use
“hack” and “hae” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,232
- “hack” frequency rank
- #49,121
- “hae” frequency rank
- 73353
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hack | hae |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Piratage informatique. | Kava. |
Where the eye mixes hack and hae
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hack with hae
A purely visual mix-up. hack (^((h aspiré))\ak\) and hae (\hae\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73353, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hack is recorded at frequency rank #24,232, classified as anoun, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ak\. 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 73353, this pair ranks #40,757 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hack vs hae
Shared letters: ah. Private to "hack": ck. Private to "hae": e.
"hack" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "hae" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- hack ← ahck · hacck · hackk · hakc · hcak · hhack
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hack" for "hae" ever safe?
Which is more common, "hack" or "hae"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hack" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hae" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #40,757 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hack" and "hae" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hae vs Hatem". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #40,757 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.