Which to use
“hinab” and “hinauf” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,324
- “hinab” frequency rank
- #7,189
- “hinauf” frequency rank
- 21513
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hinab | hinauf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von hier oben nach dort unten | nach oben, weg vom Sprecher |
Where the eye mixes hinab and hinauf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hinab runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against hinauf's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses hinab with hinauf
A purely visual mix-up. hinab ([hɪˈnap]) and hinauf ([hɪˈnaʊ̯f]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21513, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hinab is recorded at frequency rank #14,324, classified as anadv, pronounced [hɪˈnap]. hinauf is at rank #7,189, tagged as anadv, pronounced [hɪˈnaʊ̯f].
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 21513, this pair ranks #1,885,405 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hinab vs hinauf
Shared letters: ahin. Private to "hinab": b. Private to "hinauf": fu.
"hinab" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "hinauf" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hinab" for "hinauf" ever safe?
Frequency check: "hinab" vs "hinauf" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hinab" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hinauf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,885,405 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hinab" and "hinauf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hinab vs Hindi". 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 #1,885,405 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.