Which to use
“hem” is an intj and “his” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,982
- “hem” frequency rank
- #11,230
- “his” frequency rank
- 47212
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hem | his |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dont on se sert pour attirer l’attention, pour appeler. | Son, sa ou ses (à lui). |
Where the eye mixes hem and his
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hem with his
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hem is ^((h aspiré))\ɛm\ while his is \hɪz\. 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 (intj vs determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47212, 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\. his is at rank #11,230, tagged as adet, pronounced \hɪz\.
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 47212, this pair ranks #188,673 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hem vs his
Shared letters: h. Private to "hem": em. Private to "his": is.
"hem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "his" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hem" and "his" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "hem" or "his" 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 "his" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #188,673 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hem" and "his" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hatem vs hem". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #188,673 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.