henkevshinktConfusable pair

Which to use

“henke” and “hinkt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#35,229
“henke” frequency rank
#26,051
“hinkt” frequency rank
61280
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature henke hinkt
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs henken 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hinken

Where the eye mixes henke and hinkt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. henke (CVCCV) and hinkt (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
henke
5 ch
hinkt

Visual trap between henke and hinkt

A purely visual mix-up. henke ([ˈhɛŋkə]) and hinkt ([hɪŋkt]) 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 61280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

henke is recorded at frequency rank #35,229, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɛŋkə]. hinkt is at rank #26,051, tagged as averb, pronounced [hɪŋkt].

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 61280, this pair ranks #755,672 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of henke vs hinkt

Shared letters: hkn. Private to "henke": e. Private to "hinkt": it.

"henke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "hinkt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • henkeehnke · hekne · henek · henkke · hennke · hhenke · hneke
  • hinkthhinkt · hiknt · hinkkt · hinktt · hinnkt · hintk · hnikt · ihnkt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "henke" for "hinkt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɛŋkə] versus [hɪŋkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "henke" vs "hinkt" - which ranks higher?
"hinkt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,051 in our German list, against #35,229 for "henke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "henke" and "hinkt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "henke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hinkt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #755,672 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "henke" and "hinkt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hegte vs henke". 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 #755,672 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list