einemvseinesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“einem” and “eines” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#57
“einem” frequency rank
#118
“eines” frequency rank
175
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einem eines
Definition [1] Dativ Singular Maskulinum des unbestimmten Artikels ein [1] unbestimmter Artikel des Maskulinums im Genitiv

Where the eye mixes einem and eines

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
einem
5 ch
eines

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. einem ([ˈaɪ̯nəm]) and eines ([ˈaɪ̯nəs]) 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 a single letter - m in “einem” becomes s in “eines”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 175, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einem is recorded at frequency rank #57, classified as adet, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nəm]. eines is at rank #118, tagged as adet, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nəs].

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 175, this pair ranks #2,006,193 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einem vs eines

Shared letters: ein. Private to "einem": m. Private to "eines": s.

"einem" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC  ·  "eines" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einemeienm · einemm · einme · einnem · eniem · ienem
  • eineseiens · einess · einnes · einse · enies · ienes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "einem" and "eines" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nəm] versus [ˈaɪ̯nəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "einem" or "eines"?
"einem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #57 in our German list, against #118 for "eines". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list