Which to use
“hm” is an intj and “hoc” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,903
- “hm” frequency rank
- #18,770
- “hoc” frequency rank
- 35673
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hm | hoc |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante de hem et hmm. | Sorte de jeu de carte introduit, parait-il, en France par Mazarin. |
Where the eye mixes hm and hoc
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hm vs hoc
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hm is \m\ while hoc is ^((h aspiré))\ɔk\. 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 35673, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hm is recorded at frequency rank #16,903, classified as anintj, pronounced \m\. hoc is at rank #18,770, tagged as anoun, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ɔk\.
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 35673, this pair ranks #275,052 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hm vs hoc
Shared letters: h. Private to "hm": m. Private to "hoc": co.
"hm" · 2 letters · shape CC · "hoc" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hm" and "hoc" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "hm" or "hoc" show up more?
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 "hm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hoc" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #275,052 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hm" and "hoc" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hae vs hoc". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #275,052 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.