Which to use
“hinge” and “hive” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,106
- “hinge” frequency rank
- #14,961
- “hive” frequency rank
- 34067
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hinge | hive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A jointed or flexible device that allows the pivoting of a door etc. | A structure, whether artificial or natural, for housing a swarm of honeybees. |
Where the eye mixes hinge and hive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hinge vs hive
A purely visual mix-up. hinge (/ˈhɪnd͡ʒ/) and hive (/haɪv/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hinge is recorded at frequency rank #19,106, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈhɪnd͡ʒ/. hive is at rank #14,961, tagged as anoun, pronounced /haɪv/.
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 34067, this pair ranks #323,935 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hinge vs hive
Shared letters: ehi. Private to "hinge": gn. Private to "hive": v.
"hinge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hive" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hinge" for "hive" ever safe?
Which is more common, "hinge" or "hive"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hinge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #323,935 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hinge" and "hive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hing vs hinge". 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 #323,935 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.