Which to use
“hinken” and “hissen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,733
- “hinken” frequency rank
- #43,966
- “hissen” frequency rank
- 78699
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hinken | hissen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schaukelnd gehen | eine Flagge oder ein Segel am Mast nach oben ziehen |
Where the eye mixes hinken and hissen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hinken and hissen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between hinken and hissen
A purely visual mix-up. hinken ([ˈhɪŋkn̩]) and hissen ([ˈhɪsn̩]) 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 78699, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hinken is recorded at frequency rank #34,733, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɪŋkn̩]. hissen is at rank #43,966, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɪsn̩].
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 78699, this pair ranks #232,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hinken vs hissen
Shared letters: ehin. Private to "hinken": k. Private to "hissen": s.
"hinken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "hissen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hinken" and "hissen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "hinken" or "hissen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hinken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hissen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #232,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hinken" and "hissen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hasser vs hissen". 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 #232,465 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.