Which to use
“hao” and “hear” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,972
- “hao” frequency rank
- #39,333
- “hear” frequency rank
- 83305
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hao | hear |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Diminuer; s’épuiser; se consumer. | Entendre. |
Where the eye mixes hao and hear
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. hao runs 3 letters (CVV) against hear's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: hao vs hear
A purely visual mix-up. hao (\haɔ˦\) and hear (\ˈhɪɹ\) 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 83305, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hao is recorded at frequency rank #43,972, classified as averb, pronounced \haɔ˦\. hear is at rank #39,333, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈhɪɹ\.
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 83305, this pair ranks #15,090 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hao vs hear
Shared letters: ah. Private to "hao": o. Private to "hear": er.
"hao" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "hear" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hear ← ehar · hearr · hera · hhear
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hao" and "hear" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "hao" or "hear" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hao" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hear" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,090 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hao" and "hear" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hao vs hash". 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 #15,090 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.