Which to use
“hop” and “hou” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,853
- “hop” frequency rank
- #26,040
- “hou” frequency rank
- 29893
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hop | hou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Appel pour faire sauter un enfant, un animal ^([1]). | Suppose le cri d’un fantôme. |
Where the eye mixes hop and hou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hop vs hou
A purely visual mix-up. hop (^((h aspiré))\ɔp\) and hou (^((h aspiré))\u\) 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 - p in “hop” becomes u in “hou”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29893, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hop is recorded at frequency rank #3,853, classified as anintj, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ɔp\. hou is at rank #26,040, tagged as anintj, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\u\.
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 29893, this pair ranks #313,811 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hop vs hou
Shared letters: ho. Private to "hop": p. Private to "hou": u.
"hop" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hou" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hop" for "hou" ever safe?
Frequency check: "hop" vs "hou" - which ranks higher?
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 "hop" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #313,811 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hop" and "hou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hae vs hou". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #313,811 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.