Which to use
“hinge” is a noun and “Hodge” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,106
- “hinge” frequency rank
- #20,383
- “Hodge” frequency rank
- 39489
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hinge | Hodge |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A jointed or flexible device that allows the pivoting of a door etc. | A surname originating as a patronymic. |
Where the eye mixes hinge and Hodge
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hinge with Hodge
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hinge is /ˈhɪnd͡ʒ/ while Hodge is /hɒd͡ʒ/. 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 (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39489, 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/. Hodge is at rank #20,383, tagged as aname, pronounced /hɒd͡ʒ/.
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 39489, this pair ranks #276,216 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hinge vs Hodge
Shared letters: egh. Private to "hinge": in. Private to "Hodge": do.
"hinge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Hodge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hinge" and "Hodge" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hinge" or "Hodge"?
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 "hinge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Hodge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #276,216 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hinge" and "Hodge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hodge vs hoke". 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 #276,216 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.