Which to use
“hum” is an intj and “hung” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,875
- “hum” frequency rank
- #34,563
- “hung” frequency rank
- 40438
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hum | hung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Interjection qui marque doute, réticence, impatience. | Prétérit et participe passé du verbe hang (« pendre, suspendre »). |
Where the eye mixes hum and hung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hum vs hung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hum is ^((h aspiré))\œm\ while hung is \ˈhʌŋ\. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40438, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hum is recorded at frequency rank #5,875, classified as anintj, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\œm\. hung is at rank #34,563, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈhʌŋ\.
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 40438, this pair ranks #240,495 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hum vs hung
Shared letters: hu. Private to "hum": m. Private to "hung": gn.
"hum" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hung" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hung ← hhung · hnug · hugn · hungg · hunng · uhng
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hum" and "hung" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "hum" or "hung" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hum" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #240,495 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hum" and "hung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hung vs hurt". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #240,495 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.