einfachemvseinfachenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#38,064
“einfachem” frequency rank
#2,887
“einfachen” frequency rank
40951
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einfachem einfachen
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs einfach Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs einfach

Where the eye mixes einfachem and einfachen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
einfachem
9 ch
einfachen

Why the eye confuses einfachem with einfachen

A purely visual mix-up. einfachem ([ˈaɪ̯nfaxm̩]) and einfachen ([ˈaɪ̯nfaxn̩]) 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 “einfachem” becomes n in “einfachen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40951, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einfachem is recorded at frequency rank #38,064, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nfaxm̩]. einfachen is at rank #2,887, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nfaxn̩].

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 40951, this pair ranks #1,493,616 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of einfachem vs einfachen

Shared letters: acefhin. Private to "einfachem": m. Private to "einfachen": -.

"einfachem" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC  ·  "einfachen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einfachemeifnachem · einafchem · einfacchem · einfacehm · einfachemm · einfachhem · einfachme · einfahcem
  • einfacheneifnachen · einafchen · einfacchen · einfacehn · einfachenn · einfachhen · einfachne · einfahcen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "einfachem" for "einfachen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nfaxm̩] versus [ˈaɪ̯nfaxn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "einfachem" vs "einfachen" - which ranks higher?
"einfachen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,887 in our German list, against #38,064 for "einfachem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "einfachem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einfachen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,493,616 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einfachem" and "einfachen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einfachem vs einfachere". 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 #1,493,616 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