Which to use
“hecken” and “hinken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,640
- “hecken” frequency rank
- #34,733
- “hinken” frequency rank
- 56373
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hecken | hinken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas ausbrüten, hervorbringen (auch in großer Anzahl), mehr werden (besonders bei Geld) | schaukelnd gehen |
Where the eye mixes hecken and hinken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hecken and hinken follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between hecken and hinken
A purely visual mix-up. hecken ([ˈhɛkn̩]) and hinken ([ˈhɪŋkn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hecken is recorded at frequency rank #21,640, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛkn̩]. hinken is at rank #34,733, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɪŋkn̩].
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 56373, this pair ranks #942,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hecken vs hinken
Shared letters: ehkn. Private to "hecken": c. Private to "hinken": i.
"hecken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "hinken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hecken" and "hinken" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hecken" or "hinken"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "hecken" and "hinken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "hecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hinken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #942,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hecken" and "hinken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hinken vs hissen". 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 #942,729 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.