Which to use
“hap” is a verb and “hic” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,324
- “hap” frequency rank
- #16,382
- “hic” frequency rank
- 57706
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hap | hic |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ouvrir. | Nœud ou principale difficulté d’une affaire, problème. |
Where the eye mixes hap and hic
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between hap and hic
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hap is \ˈhap\ while hic is ^((h aspiré))\ik\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57706, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hap is recorded at frequency rank #41,324, classified as averb, pronounced \ˈhap\. hic is at rank #16,382, tagged as anoun, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ik\.
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 57706, this pair ranks #113,429 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hap vs hic
Shared letters: h. Private to "hap": ap. Private to "hic": ci.
"hap" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hic" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hap" and "hic" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hap" or "hic"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "hap" and "hic" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "hap" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hic" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #113,429 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hap" and "hic" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hap vs hash". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #113,429 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.