hão vs hard, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#24,033
“hão” frequency rank: #7,418
“hard” frequency rank: 31451
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	hão	hard
Definition	terceira pessoa do plural do presente do indicativo do verbo haver	condição de atuação difícil, dura

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch

hão

4 ch

hard

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: hão is averb and hardanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31451, 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]. hard is at rank #7,418, tagged as anoun.

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 31451, this pair ranks #36,625 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hão vs hard

Shared letters: h. Private to "hão": oã. Private to "hard": adr.

"hão" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "hard" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

hard ← ahrd · hadr · hardd · harrd · hhard · hrad

Frequency comparison

hão#24,033

hard#7,418

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hão" and "hard" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hão" is a verb and "hard" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "hão" or "hard"?

"hard" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,418 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 hard

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hão”; for a noun, it's “hard”.
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