EhebruchvsEinbruchWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Ehebruch” and “Einbruch” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,055
“Ehebruch” frequency rank
#6,528
“Einbruch” frequency rank
40583
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ehebruch Einbruch
Definition das Eingehen gesellschaftlich nicht geduldeter außerehelicher Beziehungen das Eindringen in eine Örtlichkeit mit räuberischen Absichten

Where the eye mixes Ehebruch and Einbruch

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Ehebruch (VCVCCVCC) and Einbruch (VVCCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
Ehebruch
8 ch
Einbruch

Visual trap between Ehebruch and Einbruch

A purely visual mix-up. Ehebruch ([ˈeːəˌbʁʊx]) and Einbruch ([ˈaɪ̯nˌbʁʊx]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ehebruch is recorded at frequency rank #34,055, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈeːəˌbʁʊx]. Einbruch is at rank #6,528, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌbʁʊx].

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 40583, this pair ranks #1,504,291 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Ehebruch vs Einbruch

Shared letters: bcehru. Private to "Ehebruch": -. Private to "Einbruch": in.

"Ehebruch" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC  ·  "Einbruch" · 8 letters · shape VVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ehebruch ← eehbruch · ehberuch · ehebbruch · ehebrcuh · ehebrruch · ehebrucch · ehebruchh · ehebruhc
  • Einbruch ← eibnruch · einbbruch · einbrcuh · einbrruch · einbrucch · einbruchh · einbruhc · einburch

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Ehebruch" and "Einbruch" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈeːəˌbʁʊx] versus [ˈaɪ̯nˌbʁʊx]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Ehebruch" or "Einbruch" show up more?
"Einbruch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,528 in our German list, against #34,055 for "Ehebruch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Ehebruch" and "Einbruch" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ehebruch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Einbruch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,504,291 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ehebruch" and "Einbruch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Einbruch vs Einbrüchen". 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 #1,504,291 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list