hintenvsHirteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hinten is a adverb, Hirte is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hinten” is an adverb and “Hirte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,393
“hinten” frequency rank
#27,772
“Hirte” frequency rank
29165
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hinten Hirte
Definition den Ort, die Richtung betreffend auf der abgewandten, nicht einsehbaren Seite, rückwärtig, rückseitig; der Ort, die Richtung, die die Gegenseite des Gesichts, den Hinterkopf beim menschlichen Körper angibt Besitzer und Hüter einer Tierherde

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hinten and Hirte apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
hinten
5 ch
Hirte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hinten is [ˈhɪntn̩] while Hirte is [ˈhɪʁtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29165, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hinten is recorded at frequency rank #1,393, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈhɪntn̩]. Hirte is at rank #27,772, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhɪʁtə].

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 29165, this pair ranks #1,771,823 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hinten vs Hirte

Shared letters: ehit. Private to "hinten": n. Private to "Hirte": r.

"hinten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Hirte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hintenhhinten · hinetn · hinnten · hintenn · hintne · hintten · hitnen · hniten
  • Hirtehhirte · hiret · hirrte · hirtte · hitre · hrite · ihrte

Frequency comparison

hinten#1,393
Hirte#27,772

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hinten" and "Hirte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hinten" is an adverb and "Hirte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hinten" or "Hirte"?
"hinten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,393 in our German list, against #27,772 for "Hirte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering hinten vs Hirte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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