Which to use
“Hai” is a noun and “hão” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,805
- “Hai” frequency rank
- #24,033
- “hão” frequency rank
- 55838
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hai | hão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tubarão | terceira pessoa do plural do presente do indicativo do verbo haver |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Hai and hão apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Hai and hão form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55838, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hai is recorded at frequency rank #31,805, classified as anoun, pronounced /haɪ̯/ ouvir^(fonte ?). hão is at rank #24,033, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɐ̃w̃/ [ˈɐ̃ʊ̯̃].
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 55838, this pair ranks #10,343 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Hai" and "hão" be used interchangeably?
Remembering Hai vs hão
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Hai”; for a verb, it's “hão”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Hai” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable