Which to use
“his” is a determiner and “hissé” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,230
- “his” frequency rank
- #35,539
- “hissé” frequency rank
- 46769
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | his | hissé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Son, sa ou ses (à lui). | Participe passé masculin singulier de hisser. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set his and hissé apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: his is \hɪz\ while hissé is ^((h aspiré))\i.se\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “his” sits inside “hissé”, and the parts of speech differ too (determiner vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
his is recorded at frequency rank #11,230, classified as adet, pronounced \hɪz\. hissé is at rank #35,539, tagged as averb, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\i.se\.
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 46769, this pair ranks #192,234 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of his vs hissé
Shared letters: his. Private to "his": -. Private to "hissé": é.
"his" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hissé" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "his" and "hissé" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "his" or "hissé"?
Remembering his vs hissé
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a determiner, it's “his”; for a verb, it's “hissé”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “his” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable