Which to use
“hinder” is a verb and “hinges” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,382
- “hinder” frequency rank
- #18,579
- “hinges” frequency rank
- 35961
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hinder | hinges |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To make difficult to accomplish; to act as an obstacle; to frustrate. | plural of hinge |
Where the eye mixes hinder and hinges
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between hinder and hinges
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hinder is /ˈhɪndə/ while hinges is /ˈhɪnd͡ʒəz/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hinder is recorded at frequency rank #17,382, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈhɪndə/. hinges is at rank #18,579, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈhɪnd͡ʒəz/.
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 35961, this pair ranks #307,423 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hinder vs hinges
Shared letters: ehin. Private to "hinder": dr. Private to "hinges": gs.
"hinder" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "hinges" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hinder" and "hinges" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "hinder" vs "hinges" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hinder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hinges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #307,423 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hinder" and "hinges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hing vs hinges". 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 #307,423 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.