Which to use
“einfachen” is an adjective and “entfachen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,887
- “einfachen” frequency rank
- #37,489
- “entfachen” frequency rank
- 40376
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | einfachen | entfachen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs einfach | ein Feuer oder einen Brand entstehen lassen |
Where the eye mixes einfachen and entfachen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. einfachen (VVCCVCCVC) and entfachen (VCCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between einfachen and entfachen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: einfachen is [ˈaɪ̯nfaxn̩] while entfachen is [ɛntˈfaxn̩]. 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 40376, 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]. entfachen is at rank #37,489, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈfaxn̩].
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 40376, this pair ranks #1,510,284 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of einfachen vs entfachen
Shared letters: acefhn. Private to "einfachen": i. Private to "entfachen": t.
"einfachen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC · "entfachen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "einfachen" and "entfachen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "einfachen" or "entfachen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "einfachen" and "entfachen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "einfachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "entfachen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,510,284 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "einfachen" and "entfachen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entfachen vs entfacht". 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 #1,510,284 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.