Which to use
“hic” is a noun and “hui” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,382
- “hic” frequency rank
- #11,783
- “hui” frequency rank
- 28165
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hic | hui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nœud ou principale difficulté d’une affaire, problème. | Indication du jour du moment d’énonciation. |
Where the eye mixes hic and hui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between hic and hui
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hic is ^((h aspiré))\ik\ while hui is \ɥi\. 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 (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28165, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hic is recorded at frequency rank #16,382, classified as anoun, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ik\. hui is at rank #11,783, tagged as anadv, pronounced \ɥi\.
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 28165, this pair ranks #324,503 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hic vs hui
Shared letters: hi. Private to "hic": c. Private to "hui": u.
"hic" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hui" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hic" and "hui" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hic" or "hui"?
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 "hic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #324,503 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hic" and "hui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hae vs hic". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #324,503 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.