Which to use
“eil” is a verb and “Eile” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,151
- “eil” frequency rank
- #12,267
- “Eile” frequency rank
- 47418
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eil | Eile |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs eilen | Verhalten oder Situation, etwas dringend erledigen zu müssen |
Where the eye mixes eil and Eile
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. eil runs 3 letters (VVC) against Eile's 4 (VVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses eil with Eile
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eil is [aɪ̯l] while Eile is [ˈaɪ̯lə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “eil” sits inside “Eile”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47418, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eil is recorded at frequency rank #35,151, classified as averb, pronounced [aɪ̯l]. Eile is at rank #12,267, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯lə].
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 47418, this pair ranks #1,284,951 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of eil vs Eile
Shared letters: eil. Private to "eil": -. Private to "Eile": -.
"eil" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "Eile" · 4 letters · shape VVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Eile ← eiel · eille · elie · iele
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "eil" for "Eile" ever safe?
Which is more common, "eil" or "Eile"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "eil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Eile" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,284,951 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eil" and "Eile" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eil vs Erle". 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 #1,284,951 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.