hither

/ˈhɪðə/

//ˈhɪðə// adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hither" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hither” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,489. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,489
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To this place, to here.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hither · hither · English

hither · rank #37,489 · 9 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #37,489
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH Hinckley

Nearest frequency peer: Hinckley (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hither”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hither” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hither vs Hitler
67% similar
hither vs hotter
67% similar
hither vs hitter
83% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hither
PropertyValue
Headwordhither
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ˈhɪðə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#37,489
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hither”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).hitherlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Hinckley” (#37,488), “Holbrook” (#37,491), “Hightower” (#37,486). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hither” is #37,489. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around hither (IPA /ˈhɪðə/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #37,489 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for hither, with forms such as "hhither", "hihter", and "hitehr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "Hitler", "hotter", "hitter", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old English hider, from Proto-Germanic *hidrê. Cognate with Latin citer. The correct English form is hither, spelled H-I-T-H-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To this place, to here.
  2. 2
    over here

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hither appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He went hither and thither.
  2. SATURNINUS: Go fetch them hither to us presently. TITUS: Why, there they are, both baked in that pie, Whereof their mother daintily hath fed, Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred.

Etymology

From Old English hider, from Proto-Germanic *hidrê. Cognate with Latin citer.

Antonyms

hence

This word in other languages

aquí(Español)ici(Français)her(Deutsch)para cá(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhither
  • hihter
  • hitehr
  • hitherr
  • hithher
  • hithre
  • hitther
  • htiher
  • ihther

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hither - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hhither1hihter2hitehr2hitherr1hithher1hithre2hitther1htiher2
Edit distance from "hither"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hither"?
"hither" is spelled H-I-T-H-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɪðə/.
What does "hither" mean?
As an adverb, "hither" means: To this place, to here.
What words are commonly confused with "hither"?
"hither" is commonly confused with "Hitler", "hotter", "hitter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hither"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hither" is /ˈhɪðə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hither"?
From Old English hider, from Proto-Germanic *hidrê. Cognate with Latin citer. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hither", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

honing#37,493Hanlon#37,480Humber#37,499hyping#37,501

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

ingress9 variantsKauffman9 variantsKevlar9 variantsMayhew9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list