einbrechenvsEinbrecherWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: einbrechen is a verb, Einbrecher is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“einbrechen” is a verb and “Einbrecher” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#26,370
“einbrechen” frequency rank
#9,884
“Einbrecher” frequency rank
36254
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einbrechen Einbrecher
Definition in ein Gebäude (beziehungsweise bei jemandem) eindringen ohne dazu befugt zu sein, oft mit Gewalt und Zerstörung von etwas verbunden Person, die unerlaubt ein fremdes Grundstück betritt, um Sachen zu entwenden

Where the eye mixes einbrechen and Einbrecher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

10 ch
einbrechen
10 ch
Einbrecher

Visual trap between einbrechen and Einbrecher

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: einbrechen is [ˈaɪ̯nˌbʁɛçn̩] while Einbrecher is [ˈaɪ̯nˌbʁɛçɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “einbrechen” becomes r in “Einbrecher”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36254, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einbrechen is recorded at frequency rank #26,370, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌbʁɛçn̩]. Einbrecher is at rank #9,884, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌbʁɛçɐ].

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 36254, this pair ranks #1,620,211 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einbrechen vs Einbrecher

Shared letters: bcehinr. Private to "einbrechen": -. Private to "Einbrecher": -.

"einbrechen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVCCVC  ·  "Einbrecher" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einbrecheneibnrechen · einbbrechen · einberchen · einbrcehen · einbrecchen · einbrecehn · einbrechenn · einbrechhen
  • Einbrechereibnrecher · einbbrecher · einbercher · einbrceher · einbreccher · einbrecehr · einbrecherr · einbrechher

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "einbrechen" for "Einbrecher" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "einbrechen" is a verb and "Einbrecher" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "einbrechen" or "Einbrecher" show up more?
"Einbrecher" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,884 in our German list, against #26,370 for "einbrechen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "einbrechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Einbrecher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,620,211 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einbrechen" and "Einbrecher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einbrechen vs einreihen". 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 #1,620,211 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list