Which to use
“hão” and “hear” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,033
- “hão” frequency rank
- #23,683
- “hear” frequency rank
- 47716
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hão | hear |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do plural do presente do indicativo do verbo haver | ouvir |
Where the eye mixes hão and hear
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. hão runs 3 letters (CVV) against hear's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: hão vs hear
A purely visual mix-up. hão (/ˈɐ̃w̃/ [ˈɐ̃ʊ̯̃]) and hear (/hiːɹ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47716, 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]. hear is at rank #23,683, tagged as averb, pronounced /hiːɹ/.
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 47716, this pair ranks #17,515 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hão vs hear
Shared letters: h. Private to "hão": oã. Private to "hear": aer.
"hão" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "hear" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hear ← ehar · haer · hearr · hhear
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hão" and "hear" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "hão" or "hear" 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 "hão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hear" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,515 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hão" and "hear" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hão vs hui". 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 #17,515 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.