Which to use
“hou” is an intj and “houx” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,040
- “hou” frequency rank
- #45,659
- “houx” frequency rank
- 71699
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hou | houx |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Suppose le cri d’un fantôme. | Arbre toujours vert, de la famille des aquifoliacées, dont les feuilles sont luisantes et armées de piquants et dont le fruit est une baie d’un très beau rouge. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hou and houx apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: hou and houx carry the same recorded pronunciation, ^((h aspiré))\u\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anintj, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “hou” sits inside “houx”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71699, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hou is recorded at frequency rank #26,040, classified as anintj, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\u\. houx is at rank #45,659, tagged as anoun, 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 71699, this pair ranks #46,623 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hou vs houx
Shared letters: hou. Private to "hou": -. Private to "houx": x.
"hou" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "houx" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- houx ← hhoux · houxx · hoxu · huox · ohux
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hou" and "houx" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hou" or "houx"?
Remembering hou vs houx
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “hou”; for a noun, it's “houx”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hou” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable