Which to use
“ehemaligen” and “einmaligen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,589
- “ehemaligen” frequency rank
- #16,396
- “einmaligen” frequency rank
- 17985
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ehemaligen | einmaligen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs ehemalig | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs einmalig |
Where the eye mixes ehemaligen and einmaligen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ehemaligen vs einmaligen
A purely visual mix-up. ehemaligen ([ˈeːəˌmaːlɪɡn̩]) and einmaligen ([ˈaɪ̯nˌmaːlɪɡn̩]) 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 17985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ehemaligen is recorded at frequency rank #1,589, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːəˌmaːlɪɡn̩]. einmaligen is at rank #16,396, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌmaːlɪɡn̩].
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 17985, this pair ranks #1,922,448 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ehemaligen vs einmaligen
Shared letters: aegilmn. Private to "ehemaligen": h. Private to "einmaligen": -.
"ehemaligen" · 10 letters · shape VCVCVCVCVC · "einmaligen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ehemaligen ← eehmaligen · eheamligen · ehemailgen · ehemalgien · ehemaliegn · ehemaligenn · ehemaliggen · ehemaligne
- einmaligen ← eimnaligen · einamligen · einmailgen · einmalgien · einmaliegn · einmaligenn · einmaliggen · einmaligne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ehemaligen" and "einmaligen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ehemaligen" or "einmaligen"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ehemaligen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "einmaligen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,922,448 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ehemaligen" and "einmaligen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einmaligen 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 #1,922,448 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.