Which to use
“hanged” and “hinted” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,730
- “hanged” frequency rank
- #17,157
- “hinted” frequency rank
- 30887
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hanged | hinted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of hang (now only when referring to the method of execution, elsewhere hung is used) | simple past and past participle of hint |
Where the eye mixes hanged and hinted
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hanged with hinted
A purely visual mix-up. hanged (/ˈhæŋd/) and hinted (/ˈhɪntɪd/) 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 30887, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hanged is recorded at frequency rank #13,730, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈhæŋd/. hinted is at rank #17,157, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈhɪntɪd/.
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 30887, this pair ranks #350,777 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hanged vs hinted
Shared letters: dehn. Private to "hanged": ag. Private to "hinted": it.
"hanged" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "hinted" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hanged" and "hinted" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hanged" or "hinted"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hanged" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hinted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #350,777 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hanged" and "hinted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hanged vs hedged". 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 #350,777 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.