hindervshitterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hinder is a verb, hitter is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hinder” is a verb and “hitter” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,382
“hinder” frequency rank
#14,960
“hitter” frequency rank
32342
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hinder hitter
Definition To make difficult to accomplish; to act as an obstacle; to frustrate. One who or that which hits.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
hinder
6 ch
hitter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hinder is /ˈhɪndə/ while hitter is /ˈhɪtə(ɹ)/. 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 32342, 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/. hitter is at rank #14,960, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈhɪtə(ɹ)/.

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 32342, this pair ranks #338,584 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hinder vs hitter

Shared letters: ehir. Private to "hinder": dn. Private to "hitter": t.

"hinder" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "hitter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hinderhhinder · hidner · hindder · hinderr · hindre · hinedr · hinnder · hnider
  • hitterhhitter · hiter · hitetr · hitterr · hittre · htiter · ihtter

Frequency comparison

hinder#17,382
hitter#14,960

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hinder" and "hitter" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hinder" is a verb and "hitter" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hinder" or "hitter"?
"hitter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,960 in our English list, against #17,382 for "hinder". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hinder vs hitter

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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