einfachenvseinfahrenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: einfachen is a adjective, einfahren is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“einfachen” is an adjective and “einfahren” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,887
“einfachen” frequency rank
#19,547
“einfahren” frequency rank
22434
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einfachen einfahren
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs einfach mit einem Fortbewegungsmittel in eine Sache/in einen Ort hineinfahren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set einfachen and einfahren apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
einfachen
9 ch
einfahren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: einfachen is [ˈaɪ̯nfaxn̩] while einfahren is [ˈaɪ̯nˌfaːʁən]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22434, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einfachen is recorded at frequency rank #2,887, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nfaxn̩]. einfahren is at rank #19,547, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌfaːʁən].

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 22434, this pair ranks #1,874,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einfachen vs einfahren

Shared letters: aefhin. Private to "einfachen": c. Private to "einfahren": r.

"einfachen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC  ·  "einfahren" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einfacheneifnachen · einafchen · einfacchen · einfacehn · einfachenn · einfachhen · einfachne · einfahcen
  • einfahreneifnahren · einafhren · einfahern · einfahhren · einfahrenn · einfahrne · einfahrren · einfarhen

Frequency comparison

einfachen#2,887
einfahren#19,547

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "einfachen" and "einfahren" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "einfachen" is an adjective and "einfahren" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "einfachen" or "einfahren"?
"einfachen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,887 in our German list, against #19,547 for "einfahren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering einfachen vs einfahren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “einfachen”; for a verb, it's “einfahren”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “einfachen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list