Which to use
“han” is an onomatopoeia and “hey” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,553
- “han” frequency rank
- #3,461
- “hey” frequency rank
- 12014
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | han | hey |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Exclamation exprimant le cri sourd et guttural d’un homme fournissant un effort. | Hé. |
Where the eye mixes han and hey
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between han and hey
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: han is ^((h aspiré))\ɑ̃\ while hey is \heɪ\. 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 (onomatopoeia vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
han is recorded at frequency rank #8,553, classified as anonomatopoeia, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ɑ̃\. hey is at rank #3,461, tagged as anintj, pronounced \heɪ\.
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 12014, this pair ranks #406,911 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of han vs hey
Shared letters: h. Private to "han": an. Private to "hey": ey.
"han" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hey" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "han" for "hey" ever safe?
Which is more common, "han" or "hey"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "han" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hey" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #406,911 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "han" and "hey" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "han vs hash". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #406,911 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.