Which to use
“ehemalige” and “einmalige” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,023
- “ehemalige” frequency rank
- #10,460
- “einmalige” frequency rank
- 12483
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ehemalige | einmalige |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs ehemalig | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs einmalig |
Where the eye mixes ehemalige and einmalige
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between ehemalige and einmalige
A purely visual mix-up. ehemalige ([ˈeːəˌmaːlɪɡə]) and einmalige ([ˈaɪ̯nˌmaːlɪɡə]) 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 12483, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ehemalige is recorded at frequency rank #2,023, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːəˌmaːlɪɡə]. einmalige is at rank #10,460, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌmaːlɪɡə].
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 12483, this pair ranks #1,963,925 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ehemalige vs einmalige
Shared letters: aegilm. Private to "ehemalige": h. Private to "einmalige": n.
"ehemalige" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVCV · "einmalige" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ehemalige" for "einmalige" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ehemalige" vs "einmalige" - which ranks higher?
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 "ehemalige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "einmalige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,963,925 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ehemalige" and "einmalige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einmalige vs einmaliger". 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 #1,963,925 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.