hingebenvshinlegenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,114
“hingeben” frequency rank
#17,031
“hinlegen” frequency rank
47145
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hingeben hinlegen
Definition in die Richtung, in den Besitz von jemandem etwas überreichen, übergeben etwas an einen bestimmten Ort legen, nicht mehr tragen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hingeben and hinlegen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
hingeben
8 ch
hinlegen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hingeben ([ˈhɪnˌɡeːbn̩]) and hinlegen ([ˈhɪnˌleːɡn̩]) 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 47145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hingeben is recorded at frequency rank #30,114, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɪnˌɡeːbn̩]. hinlegen is at rank #17,031, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɪnˌleːɡn̩].

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 47145, this pair ranks #1,294,635 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hingeben vs hinlegen

Shared letters: eghin. Private to "hingeben": b. Private to "hinlegen": l.

"hingeben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "hinlegen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hingebenhhingeben · higneben · hinegben · hingbeen · hingebben · hingebenn · hingebne · hingeebn
  • hinlegenhhinlegen · hilnegen · hinelgen · hinleegn · hinlegenn · hinleggen · hinlegne · hinlgeen

Frequency comparison

hingeben#30,114
hinlegen#17,031

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hingeben" and "hinlegen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɪnˌɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈhɪnˌleːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hingeben" or "hinlegen"?
"hinlegen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,031 in our German list, against #30,114 for "hingeben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hingeben vs hinlegen

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 “hingeben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list