holàvshollyWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: holà is a intj, holly is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“holà” is an intj and “holly” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,841
“holà” frequency rank
#21,964
“holly” frequency rank
60805
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature holà holly
Definition Cri que les charretiers poussaient pour faire arrêter leurs chevaux. Houx.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
holà
5 ch
holly

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: holà is ^((h aspiré))\ɔ.la\ while holly is \ˈhɒl.i\. 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 60805, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

holà is recorded at frequency rank #38,841, classified as anintj, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ɔ.la\. holly is at rank #21,964, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈhɒl.i\.

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 60805, this pair ranks #95,670 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of holà vs holly

Shared letters: hlo. Private to "holà": à. Private to "holly": y.

"holà" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "holly" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hollyhholly · hloly · hollyy · holyl · ohlly

Frequency comparison

holà#38,841
holly#21,964

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "holà" and "holly" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "holà" is an intj and "holly" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "holà" or "holly"?
"holly" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,964 in our French list, against #38,841 for "holà". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering holà vs holly

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list