houvsHutWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#26,040
“hou” frequency rank
#45,103
“Hut” frequency rank
71143
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hou Hut
Definition Suppose le cri d’un fantôme. Chapeau, coiffe d’homme ou de femme.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hou and Hut apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
hou
3 ch
Hut

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hou is ^((h aspiré))\u\ while Hut is \huːt\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71143, 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\. Hut is at rank #45,103, tagged as anoun, pronounced \huːt\.

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 71143, this pair ranks #48,654 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hou vs Hut

Shared letters: hu. Private to "hou": o. Private to "Hut": t.

"hou" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "Hut" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

hou#26,040
Hut#45,103

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hou" and "Hut" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hou" is an intj and "Hut" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hou" or "Hut"?
"hou" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,040 in our French list, against #45,103 for "Hut". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hou vs Hut

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 “Hut”.
  • 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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list