Which to use
“eilen” is a verb and “einem” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,518
- “eilen” frequency rank
- #57
- “einem” frequency rank
- 25575
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eilen | einem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schnell gehen, um ein Ziel möglichst schnell zu erreichen | [1] Dativ Singular Maskulinum des unbestimmten Artikels ein |
Where the eye mixes eilen and einem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between eilen and einem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eilen is [ˈaɪ̯lən] while einem is [ˈaɪ̯nəm]. 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 determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eilen is recorded at frequency rank #25,518, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯lən]. einem is at rank #57, tagged as adet, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nəm].
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 25575, this pair ranks #1,831,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eilen vs einem
Shared letters: ein. Private to "eilen": l. Private to "einem": m.
"eilen" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC · "einem" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "eilen" and "einem" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "eilen" or "einem" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "eilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "einem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,831,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eilen" and "einem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eilen vs Eupen". 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 #1,831,187 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.