Which to use
“eil” is a verb and “Enz” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,151
- “eil” frequency rank
- #43,842
- “Enz” frequency rank
- 78993
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eil | Enz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs eilen | ein Fluss in Deutschland, Nebenfluss des Neckars |
Where the eye mixes eil and Enz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. eil (VVC) and Enz (VCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between eil and Enz
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eil is [aɪ̯l] while Enz is [ɛnt͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78993, 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]. Enz is at rank #43,842, tagged as aname, pronounced [ɛnt͡s].
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 78993, this pair ranks #226,068 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of eil vs Enz
Shared letters: e. Private to "eil": il. Private to "Enz": nz.
"eil" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "Enz" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "eil" for "Enz" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "eil" or "Enz" show up more?
Useful next steps
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 "Enz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #226,068 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eil" and "Enz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Enz vs eo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #226,068 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.