Which to use
“hem” is an intj and “hess” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,982
- “hem” frequency rank
- #28,193
- “hess” frequency rank
- 64175
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hem | hess |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dont on se sert pour attirer l’attention, pour appeler. | crise, misère, galère. |
Where the eye mixes hem and hess
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between hem and hess
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hem is ^((h aspiré))\ɛm\ while hess is \hɛs\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64175, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hem is recorded at frequency rank #35,982, classified as anintj, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ɛm\. hess is at rank #28,193, tagged as anoun, pronounced \hɛs\.
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 64175, this pair ranks #78,343 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hem vs hess
Shared letters: eh. Private to "hem": m. Private to "hess": s.
"hem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hess" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hess ← ehss · hes · hhess · hses
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hem" and "hess" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "hem" or "hess" 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 "hem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hess" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #78,343 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hem" and "hess" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hatem vs hem". 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 #78,343 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.