hemvsHTMLWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: hem is a intj, HTML is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hem” is an intj and “HTML” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,982
“hem” frequency rank
#15,405
“HTML” frequency rank
51387
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hem HTML
Definition Dont on se sert pour attirer l’attention, pour appeler. Langage informatique qui décrit les éléments d'une page Web à l'aide de balises, en vue de sa publication dans le World Wide Web.

Where the eye mixes hem and HTML

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
hem
4 ch
HTML

Why the eye confuses hem with HTML

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hem is ^((h aspiré))\ɛm\ while HTML is ^((h aspiré))\aʃ.te.ɛm.ɛl\. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51387, 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\. HTML is at rank #15,405, tagged as aname, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\aʃ.te.ɛm.ɛl\.

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 51387, this pair ranks #155,378 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hem vs HTML

Shared letters: hm. Private to "hem": e. Private to "HTML": lt.

"hem" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "HTML" · 4 letters · shape CCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • HTMLhhtml · hmtl · htlm · htmll · htmml · httml · thml

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "hem" for "HTML" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hem" is an intj and "HTML" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary French text, does "hem" or "HTML" show up more?
"HTML" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,405 in our French list, against #35,982 for "hem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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 "HTML" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #155,378 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hem" and "HTML" 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 #155,378 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list