Which to use
“einfangen” and “eingefangen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,583
- “einfangen” frequency rank
- #16,967
- “eingefangen” frequency rank
- 38550
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | einfangen | eingefangen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine entlaufende Person oder ein Tier fangen, festnehmen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs einfangen |
Where the eye mixes einfangen and eingefangen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. einfangen runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against eingefangen's 11 (VVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between einfangen and eingefangen
A purely visual mix-up. einfangen ([ˈaɪ̯nˌfaŋən]) and eingefangen ([ˈaɪ̯nɡəˌfaŋən]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38550, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
einfangen is recorded at frequency rank #21,583, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌfaŋən]. eingefangen is at rank #16,967, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nɡəˌfaŋən].
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 38550, this pair ranks #1,560,968 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of einfangen vs eingefangen
Shared letters: aefgin. Private to "einfangen": -. Private to "eingefangen": -.
"einfangen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC · "eingefangen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- einfangen ← eifnangen · einafngen · einfagnen · einfanegn · einfangenn · einfanggen · einfangne · einfanngen
- eingefangen ← eignefangen · einegfangen · eingeafngen · eingefagnen · eingefanegn · eingefangenn · eingefanggen · eingefangne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "einfangen" for "eingefangen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "einfangen" or "eingefangen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "einfangen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "eingefangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,560,968 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "einfangen" and "eingefangen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einfangen vs einfinden". 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 #1,560,968 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.