hingvshingeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#48,801
“hing” frequency rank
#19,106
“hinge” frequency rank
67907
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hing hinge
Definition alternative form of hang. A jointed or flexible device that allows the pivoting of a door etc.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
hing
5 ch
hinge

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

hing and hinge form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “hing” sits inside “hinge” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67907, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hing is recorded at frequency rank #48,801, classified as averb, pronounced /hɪŋ/. hinge is at rank #19,106, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈhɪnd͡ʒ/.

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 67907, this pair ranks #61,273 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

hing#48,801
hinge#19,106

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hing" and "hinge" be used interchangeably?
No, "hing" and "hinge" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering hing vs hinge

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “hing”; for a noun, it's “hinge”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hing” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list