Which to use
“eil” and “eilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,151
- “eil” frequency rank
- #25,518
- “eilen” frequency rank
- 60669
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eil | eilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs eilen | schnell gehen, um ein Ziel möglichst schnell zu erreichen |
Where the eye mixes eil and eilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. eil runs 3 letters (VVC) against eilen's 5 (VVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: eil vs eilen
A purely visual mix-up. eil ([aɪ̯l]) and eilen ([ˈaɪ̯lən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “eil” sits inside “eilen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60669, 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]. eilen is at rank #25,518, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯lən].
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 60669, this pair ranks #778,364 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of eil vs eilen
Shared letters: eil. Private to "eil": -. Private to "eilen": n.
"eil" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "eilen" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- eilen ← eieln · eilenn · eillen · eilne · elien · ielen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "eil" for "eilen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "eil" or "eilen" show up more?
What to do next
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 "eilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #778,364 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eil" and "eilen" 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 #778,364 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.