hatvshiatoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“hat” and “hiato” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#19,453
“hat” frequency rank
#29,000
“hiato” frequency rank
48453
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hat hiato
Definition chapéu sequência de duas vogais que pertencem a sílabas diferentes

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hat and hiato apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
hat
5 ch
hiato

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hat (/hæt/, SAMPA: /h{t/) and hiato (/ˈja.tu/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48453, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hat is recorded at frequency rank #19,453, classified as anoun, pronounced /hæt/, SAMPA: /h{t/. hiato is at rank #29,000, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈja.tu/.

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 48453, this pair ranks #16,705 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hat vs hiato

Shared letters: aht. Private to "hat": -. Private to "hiato": io.

"hat" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "hiato" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hiatohaito · hhiato · hiaot · hiatto · hitao · ihato

Frequency comparison

hat#19,453
hiato#29,000

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hat" and "hiato" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/hæt/, SAMPA: /h{t/ versus /ˈja.tu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hat" or "hiato"?
"hat" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,453 in our Portuguese list, against #29,000 for "hiato". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hat vs hiato

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hat” 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