hidden vs hinken, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#24,382
“hidden” frequency rank: #34,733
“hinken” frequency rank: 59115
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	hidden	hinken
Definition	Partizip Perfekt (past participle) des Verbs hide	schaukelnd gehen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hidden and hinken apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

hidden

6 ch

hinken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

hidden and hinken are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hidden is recorded at frequency rank #24,382, classified as averb, pronounced […]. 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 59115, this pair ranks #836,720 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hidden vs hinken

Shared letters: ehin. Private to "hidden": d. Private to "hinken": k.

"hidden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "hinken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

hidden ← hdiden · hhidden · hiddenn · hiddne · hidedn · hiden · ihdden
hinken ← hhinken · hiknen · hinekn · hinkenn · hinkken · hinkne · hinnken · hniken

Frequency comparison

hidden#24,382

hinken#34,733

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hidden" and "hinken" be used interchangeably?

No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Which is more common, "hidden" or "hinken"?

"hidden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,382 in our German list, against #34,733 for "hinken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hidden vs hinken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hidden” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable