Which to use
“hinweisen” and “hinzuweisen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,996
- “hinweisen” frequency rank
- #12,735
- “hinzuweisen” frequency rank
- 17731
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hinweisen | hinzuweisen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem etwas zur Kenntnis bringen; in Erinnerung rufen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs hinweisen |
Where the eye mixes hinweisen and hinzuweisen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. hinweisen runs 9 letters (CVCCVVCVC) against hinzuweisen's 11 (CVCCVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between hinweisen and hinzuweisen
A purely visual mix-up. hinweisen ([ˈhɪnˌvaɪ̯zn̩]) and hinzuweisen ([ˈhɪnt͡suˌvaɪ̯zn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17731, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hinweisen is recorded at frequency rank #4,996, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhɪnˌvaɪ̯zn̩]. hinzuweisen is at rank #12,735, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhɪnt͡suˌvaɪ̯zn̩].
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 17731, this pair ranks #1,924,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hinweisen vs hinzuweisen
Shared letters: ehinsw. Private to "hinweisen": -. Private to "hinzuweisen": uz.
"hinweisen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC · "hinzuweisen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hinweisen ← hhinweisen · hinewisen · hinnweisen · hinweiesn · hinweisenn · hinweisne · hinweissen · hinwesien
- hinzuweisen ← hhinzuweisen · hinnzuweisen · hinuzweisen · hinzuewisen · hinzuweiesn · hinzuweisenn · hinzuweisne · hinzuweissen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hinweisen" for "hinzuweisen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "hinweisen" or "hinzuweisen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hinweisen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hinzuweisen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,924,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hinweisen" and "hinzuweisen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hinweisen vs hinweist". 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 #1,924,797 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.