eh vs hum

eh

intj
  • Expressing apprehension following or preceding a reasoning or excuse; uh. 

  • An interjection used to ascertain the continued attention of an individual addressed by the speaker. 

  • Used as a tag question, to emphasise what goes before or to request that the listener express an opinion about what has been said. 

  • In isolation, a request for repetition or clarification of what has just been said; compare what, pardon. 

  • In isolation, expressing surprise or confusion; compare wha, huh, za. 

  • Expressing apathy or lack of enthusiasm; meh. 

verb
  • To use the interjection eh. 

adj
  • Of mediocre quality; unremarkable. 

hum

intj
  • Synonym of um: a noise indicating doubt, uncertainty, &c. 

  • Synonym of hmm: a noise indicating thought, consideration, &c. 

noun
  • Unpleasant odour. 

  • A phenomenon, or collection of phenomena, involving widespread reports of a persistent and invasive low-frequency humming, rumbling, or droning noise not audible to all people. 

  • Busy activity, like the buzz of a beehive. 

  • A hummed tune, i.e. created orally with lips closed. 

  • An often indistinct sound resembling human humming. 

verb
  • To produce low sounds which blend continuously 

  • To express by humming. 

  • To reek, smell bad. 

  • To make a sound from the vocal chords without pronouncing any real words, with one's lips closed. 

  • To drone like certain insects naturally do in motion, or sounding similarly 

  • To buzz, be busily active like a beehive 

How often have the words eh and hum occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )