hawkvshawksWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“hawk” and “hawks” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#28,588
“hawk” frequency rank
#24,995
“hawks” frequency rank
53583
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hawk hawks
Definition Rapace de la famille des accipitridés, et notamment les éperviers et les vautours. Pluriel de hawk.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hawk and hawks apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
hawk
5 ch
hawks

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

hawk and hawks form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “hawk” sits inside “hawks” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hawk is recorded at frequency rank #28,588, classified as anoun, pronounced \hɔːk\. hawks is at rank #24,995, tagged as anoun, pronounced \hɔːks\.

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 53583, this pair ranks #139,719 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

hawk#28,588
hawks#24,995

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hawk" and "hawks" be used interchangeably?
No, "hawk" and "hawks" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering hawk vs hawks

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 “hawk” 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