eichvseineWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: eich is a verb, eine is a determiner, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“eich” is a verb and “eine” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,861
“eich” frequency rank
#19
“eine” frequency rank
18880
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eich eine
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs eichen [1] Nominativ Singular Femininum des unbestimmten Artikels ein

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set eich and eine apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
eich
4 ch
eine

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

eich and eine form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18880, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eich is recorded at frequency rank #18,861, classified as averb, pronounced [aɪ̯ç]. eine is at rank #19, tagged as adet, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nə].

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 18880, this pair ranks #1,913,941 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

eich#18,861
eine#19

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eich" and "eine" be used interchangeably?
No, "eich" and "eine" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering eich vs eine

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “eich”; for a determiner, it's “eine”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “eich” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list