hvshoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: h is a symbol, ho is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“h” is a symbol and “ho” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,433
“h” frequency rank
#8,490
“ho” frequency rank
9923
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature h ho
Definition símbolo de hora: o

Letter map: h vs ho

Shared letters muted; letters that set h and ho apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

1 ch
h
2 ch
ho

Role in the sentence - h and ho

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: h is asymbol and hoapronoun. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “h” sits inside “ho”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9923, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

h is recorded at frequency rank #1,433, classified as asymbol. ho is at rank #8,490, tagged as apron.

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 9923, this pair ranks #63,347 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of h vs ho

Shared letters: h. Private to "h": -. Private to "ho": o.

"h" · 1 letters · shape C  ·  "ho" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "h" for "ho" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "h" is a symbol and "ho" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "h" or "ho"?
"h" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,433 in our Portuguese list, against #8,490 for "ho". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "h" and "ho".

  • Full dictionary entry for "h" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ho" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #63,347 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "h" and "ho" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ho vs hui". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #63,347 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list