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'Hair' is the strands that grow on the head and body; 'hare' is the fast wild mammal similar to a rabbit.
Side-by-side comparison
"Hair" is the hair on people or animals. Also each individual strand. "Hair" can be countable or uncountable depending on context.
She cut six inches off her hair for a fresh look.
The dog left hair all over the sofa.
Long hair requires more maintenance than short hair.
"Hare" is the animal similar to a rabbit but larger, with longer ears. It is pronounced the same as "hair".
A hare sprinted across the field at extraordinary speed.
The fable of the tortoise and the hare teaches us about patience.
Hares can run at speeds of up to seventy kilometres per hour.
Common mistake
"She brushed her hare" when meaning hair is wrong: the strands growing from skin are "hair". The fast wild animal is "hare".
Trick to remember it
- •"Hair" contains "air": strands of hair float and move in the air.
- •"Hare" ends in ARE: a hare is always racing, running fast.
Quick rule
- •Is it the strands growing from skin? "Hair".
- •Is it the fast wild animal similar to a rabbit? "Hare".
Did you know?
The expression "hare-brained" (reckless or poorly thought out) comes directly from the behavior of hares, famous for their erratic, unpredictable sprinting when startled. It describes plans or people that seem impulsive and chaotic: "a hare-brained scheme." The hare also stars in one of Aesop's most famous fables: "The Hare and the Tortoise," which gave English the proverbial expression "slow and steady wins the race." The overconfident hare (speed without strategy) loses to the methodical tortoise, a lesson about focus over raw ability that English speakers still quote today.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
She has beautiful long _____ . It goes all the way down to her waist.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
A _____ ran across the field at incredible speed. They are much faster than rabbits.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy