Ho vs Po

@FilipinoChatAdmin
if I can still remember it correctly, in some books that I have read long ago said that "ho" is the informal way of saying "po"..so if you want to be formal, use "po".
in my personal experience, I use them interchangeably, but unlike "po/ho", I use "opo" more than "oho", I seldom use "oho" coz it sounds too informal for me 😅

@totoydavis
Thanks! Would you say you use ho and po 50 / 50%? Or how often for each, in normal conversations?

sir @FilipinoChatAdmin ,
Personally..hmmm...I would say 60% for "po" and 40% for "ho" ☺️
I use "po" to my parents, and to people who has higher position/status than me(I guess), especially in corporate world..that includes our customers 😅 as well as to my nephew and to children in general 😊
and I use "ho" to people older than me that I encounter on street/Public bus/and the likes or even to strangers my age or younger, where I can be informal 😅
Anyway, this is just my personal way of using them 😅

@totoydavis
Ahh, Ok...interesting...I didn’t realize it was so common with people.

sir @FilipinoChatAdmin ,
opo 😊 hehe...it is so common especially here in Bulacan 😊 I can hear it in Manila too..but I am not sure in Southern-Tagalog areas 😊

I hear “ho” a lot too, especially in situations where you should be polite but don’t know them personally (just my observation, not sure if there is an actual difference). For example when talking to the jeepney driver. I do here po a lot more often, but ho is still there for sure. “Bayad, ho” and “sukli, ho”.And I also noticed that young people will use “ho” with the elderly on the jeep, so it seems similar to what @totoydavis said.

yes po, sir @Daoxin 😊
Honestly, I use "ho" to make myself feel comfortable with a stranger (older/same-age/younger) 😅 like I want him/her feel comfortable with me and me to him/her as well 😊 like all the formalities are dropped but the respect is still there...if you know what I mean 😅
That's how, I guess, I would explain what I feel whenever I use "ho"..but still I use it interchangeably with "po" 😊 hehe~

@FilipinoChatAdmin I would say that their frequencies of usage are just equal. There is no rule about which one to use and when. As totoydavis has mentioned, he considers “po” as more formal. Maybe that’s because we might initially tend to use “po” when the seniority of the other person is obvious, but once that acknowledgment has been established then using either one would not matter anymore. In situations, like addressing a jeepney driver or any other stranger inside the jeep as Daoxin has observed, “ho” would serve as a generic respectful expression in the sense that age difference need not considered. Maybe a “po” might be unflattering to those who may not be that old. In general though, it does not really matter whether we say “po” or “ho”.When it comes to using “po!” and “ho!” in responding to a call, for example, a parent calling a child who’s at a distance or in another room, we might resort to using “po!”. This is because it might be easier to say it aloud and the “exploding” ‘p’ might help project the sound further than aspirating it with an “h”. (Note: these “po!” and “ho!” responses are just the clipped “opo!” and “oho!”, which are the respectful “yes!” responses)