haovshearWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hao and hear apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
hao
4 ch
hear

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • hearehar · hearr · hera · hhear

Frequency comparison

hao#43,972
hear#39,333

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hao" and "hear" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\haɔ˦\ versus \ˈhɪɹ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hao" or "hear"?
"hear" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,333 in our French list, against #43,972 for "hao". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hao vs hear

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hao” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list