hingebenvshinsehenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,114
“hingeben” frequency rank
#20,295
“hinsehen” frequency rank
50409
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hingeben hinsehen
Definition in die Richtung, in den Besitz von jemandem etwas überreichen, übergeben den Blick auf ein bestimmtes Ziel richten

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
hingeben
8 ch
hinsehen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hingeben ([ˈhɪnˌɡeːbn̩]) and hinsehen ([ˈhɪnˌzeːən]) 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 50409, 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]. hinsehen is at rank #20,295, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɪnˌzeːən].

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 50409, this pair ranks #1,174,733 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hingeben vs hinsehen

Shared letters: ehin. Private to "hingeben": bg. Private to "hinsehen": s.

"hingeben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "hinsehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hingebenhhingeben · higneben · hinegben · hingbeen · hingebben · hingebenn · hingebne · hingeebn
  • hinsehenhhinsehen · hineshen · hinnsehen · hinseehn · hinsehenn · hinsehhen · hinsehne · hinsheen

Frequency comparison

hingeben#30,114
hinsehen#20,295

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hingeben" and "hinsehen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɪnˌɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈhɪnˌzeːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hingeben" or "hinsehen"?
"hinsehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,295 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 hinsehen

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