hanvshpTell them apart

Quick tell: han is a onomatopoeia, hp is a symbol, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“han” is an onomatopoeia and “hp” is a symbol - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,553
“han” frequency rank
#9,671
“hp” frequency rank
18224
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature han hp
Definition Exclamation exprimant le cri sourd et guttural d’un homme fournissant un effort. Symbole du horsepower, le cheval-vapeur anglo-saxon, dont les diverses définitions vont de 75 m kgf/s à 746 W.

Letter map: han vs hp

Shared letters muted; letters that set han and hp apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
han
2 ch
hp

Grammar separator: han vs hp

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: han is anonomatopoeia and hpasymbol. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18224, 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\. hp is at rank #9,671, tagged as asymbol.

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 18224, this pair ranks #379,397 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of han vs hp

Shared letters: h. Private to "han": an. Private to "hp": p.

"han" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "hp" · 2 letters · shape CC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "han" for "hp" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "han" is an onomatopoeia and "hp" a symbol, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "han" vs "hp" - which ranks higher?
"han" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,553 in our French list, against #9,671 for "hp". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

You've compared "han" and "hp". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "han" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hp" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #379,397 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "han" and "hp" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hae vs hp". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #379,397 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list