Which to use
“hom” and “hum” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,723
- “hom” frequency rank
- #5,875
- “hum” frequency rank
- 39598
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hom | hum |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui exprime le doute, la défiance. | Interjection qui marque doute, réticence, impatience. |
Where the eye mixes hom and hum
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between hom and hum
A purely visual mix-up. hom (^((h aspiré))\ɔm\) and hum (^((h aspiré))\œm\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - o in “hom” becomes u in “hum”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39598, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hom is recorded at frequency rank #33,723, classified as anintj, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ɔm\. hum is at rank #5,875, tagged as anintj, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\œm\.
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 39598, this pair ranks #246,777 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hom vs hum
Shared letters: hm. Private to "hom": o. Private to "hum": u.
"hom" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hum" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hom" and "hum" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "hom" or "hum"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hom" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #246,777 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hom" and "hum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hae vs hom". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #246,777 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.