Which to use
“einen” is a verb and “einzeln” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46
- “einen” frequency rank
- #4,871
- “einzeln” frequency rank
- 4917
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | einen | einzeln |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zur Gemeinsamkeit führen | alleine seiend; nur eins von mehreren |
Where the eye mixes einen and einzeln
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between einen and einzeln
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: einen is [ˈaɪ̯nən] while einzeln is [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sl̩n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4917, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
einen is recorded at frequency rank #46, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nən]. einzeln is at rank #4,871, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sl̩n].
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 4917, this pair ranks #1,996,295 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of einen vs einzeln
Shared letters: ein. Private to "einen": -. Private to "einzeln": lz.
"einen" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC · "einzeln" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "einen" for "einzeln" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "einen" or "einzeln" 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 "einen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "einzeln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,996,295 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "einen" and "einzeln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Eicheln vs einzeln". 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 #1,996,295 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.