hinktvshinzuWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hinkt is a verb, hinzu is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hinkt” is a verb and “hinzu” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#26,051
“hinkt” frequency rank
#1,735
“hinzu” frequency rank
27786
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hinkt hinzu
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs hinken (noch) zusätzlich zu einer Sache, einem Vorgang, einem Zustand

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hinkt and hinzu apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
hinkt
5 ch
hinzu

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hinkt is [hɪŋkt] while hinzu is [hɪnˈt͡suː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27786, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hinkt is recorded at frequency rank #26,051, classified as averb, pronounced [hɪŋkt]. hinzu is at rank #1,735, tagged as anadv, pronounced [hɪnˈt͡suː].

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 27786, this pair ranks #1,795,926 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hinkt vs hinzu

Shared letters: hin. Private to "hinkt": kt. Private to "hinzu": uz.

"hinkt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "hinzu" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hinkthhinkt · hiknt · hinkkt · hinktt · hinnkt · hintk · hnikt · ihnkt
  • hinzuhhinzu · hinnzu · hinuz · hinzzu · hiznu · hnizu · ihnzu

Frequency comparison

hinkt#26,051
hinzu#1,735

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hinkt" and "hinzu" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hinkt" is a verb and "hinzu" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hinkt" or "hinzu"?
"hinzu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,735 in our German list, against #26,051 for "hinkt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering hinkt vs hinzu

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hinkt”; for an adverb, it's “hinzu”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hinkt” 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