einfallenvseinfälltTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,287
“einfallen” frequency rank
#12,057
“einfällt” frequency rank
18344
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einfallen einfällt
Definition (unerwünscht oder sogar gewaltsam) eindringen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs einfallen

Where the eye mixes einfallen and einfällt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

9 ch
einfallen
8 ch
einfällt

Look-alike desk: einfallen vs einfällt

A purely visual mix-up. einfallen ([ˈaɪ̯nˌfalən]) and einfällt ([ˈaɪ̯nfɛlt]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18344, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einfallen is recorded at frequency rank #6,287, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌfalən]. einfällt is at rank #12,057, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nfɛlt].

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 18344, this pair ranks #1,919,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einfallen vs einfällt

Shared letters: efiln. Private to "einfallen": a. Private to "einfällt": .

"einfallen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC  ·  "einfällt" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einfalleneifnallen · einafllen · einfaleln · einfalen · einfallenn · einfallne · einffallen · einflalen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "einfallen" and "einfällt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nˌfalən] versus [ˈaɪ̯nfɛlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "einfallen" or "einfällt"?
"einfallen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,287 in our German list, against #12,057 for "einfällt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "einfallen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einfällt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,919,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einfallen" and "einfällt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Einfälle vs einfällt". 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 #1,919,139 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