Which to use
“ham” is an intj and “hao” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,150
- “ham” frequency rank
- #43,972
- “hao” frequency rank
- 61122
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ham | hao |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Onomatopée issue de la délectation de boire ou de manger. | Diminuer; s’épuiser; se consumer. |
Where the eye mixes ham and hao
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ham vs hao
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ham is \am\ while hao is \haɔ˦\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - m in “ham” becomes o in “hao”, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61122, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ham is recorded at frequency rank #17,150, classified as anintj, pronounced \am\. hao is at rank #43,972, tagged as averb, pronounced \haɔ˦\.
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 61122, this pair ranks #93,950 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ham vs hao
Shared letters: ah. Private to "ham": m. Private to "hao": o.
"ham" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hao" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ham" and "hao" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "ham" or "hao" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ham" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hao" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #93,950 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ham" and "hao" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hao vs hash". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #93,950 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.