hãovsharaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hão is a verb, hara is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hão” is a verb and “hara” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,033
“hão” frequency rank
#22,669
“hara” frequency rank
46702
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hão hara
Definition terceira pessoa do plural do presente do indicativo do verbo haver onde:

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hão and hara apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
hão
4 ch
hara

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: hão is averb and haraapronoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46702, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hão is recorded at frequency rank #24,033, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɐ̃w̃/ [ˈɐ̃ʊ̯̃]. hara is at rank #22,669, 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 46702, this pair ranks #18,606 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hão vs hara

Shared letters: h. Private to "hão": . Private to "hara": ar.

"hão" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "hara" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • haraahra · haar · harra · hhara · hraa

Frequency comparison

hão#24,033
hara#22,669

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hão" and "hara" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hão" is a verb and "hara" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hão" or "hara"?
"hara" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,669 in our Portuguese list, against #24,033 for "hão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hão vs hara

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hão”; for a pronoun, it's “hara”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hão” 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