Which to use
“einfangen” and “einzufangen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,583
- “einfangen” frequency rank
- #23,906
- “einzufangen” frequency rank
- 45489
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | einfangen | einzufangen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine entlaufende Person oder ein Tier fangen, festnehmen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs einfangen |
Where the eye mixes einfangen and einzufangen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. einfangen runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against einzufangen's 11 (VVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses einfangen with einzufangen
A purely visual mix-up. einfangen ([ˈaɪ̯nˌfaŋən]) and einzufangen ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌfaŋən]) 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 45489, 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]. einzufangen is at rank #23,906, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌfaŋən].
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 45489, this pair ranks #1,351,290 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of einfangen vs einzufangen
Shared letters: aefgin. Private to "einfangen": -. Private to "einzufangen": uz.
"einfangen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC · "einzufangen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- einfangen ← eifnangen · einafngen · einfagnen · einfanegn · einfangenn · einfanggen · einfangne · einfanngen
- einzufangen ← einnzufangen · einuzfangen · einzfuangen · einzuafngen · einzufagnen · einzufanegn · einzufangenn · einzufanggen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "einfangen" and "einzufangen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "einfangen" vs "einzufangen" - which ranks higher?
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 "einfangen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "einzufangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,351,290 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "einfangen" and "einzufangen" 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 #1,351,290 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.