hmm vs hummm, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“hmm” is an intj and “hummm” is an onomatopoeia - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,171
“hmm” frequency rank: #49,134
“hummm” frequency rank: 59305
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	hmm	hummm
Definition	Variante de hum, hm, exprime l’hésitation.	Onomatopée issue de la délectation de boire ou de manger.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hmm and hummm apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

hmm

5 ch

hummm

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: hmm is anintj and hummmanonomatopoeia. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59305, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hmm is recorded at frequency rank #10,171, classified as anintj. hummm is at rank #49,134, tagged as anonomatopoeia.

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 59305, this pair ranks #103,911 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hmm vs hummm

Shared letters: hm. Private to "hmm": -. Private to "hummm": u.

"hmm" · 3 letters · shape CCC · "hummm" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

hummm ← hhummm · hmumm · humm · uhmmm

Frequency comparison

hmm#10,171

hummm#49,134

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hmm" and "hummm" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hmm" is an intj and "hummm" an onomatopoeia, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "hmm" or "hummm"?

"hmm" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,171 in our French list, against #49,134 for "hummm". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hmm vs hummm

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “hmm”; for an onomatopoeia, it's “hummm”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hmm” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable