einfielvsEinzelWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: einfiel is a verb, Einzel is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“einfiel” is a verb and “Einzel” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,444
“einfiel” frequency rank
#7,164
“Einzel” frequency rank
49608
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einfiel Einzel
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs einfallen Spielart beim Tennis

Where the eye mixes einfiel and Einzel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
einfiel
6 ch
Einzel

Visual trap between einfiel and Einzel

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: einfiel is [ˈaɪ̯nˌfiːl] while Einzel is [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sl̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49608, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einfiel is recorded at frequency rank #42,444, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌfiːl]. Einzel is at rank #7,164, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sl̩].

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 49608, this pair ranks #1,205,048 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of einfiel vs Einzel

Shared letters: eiln. Private to "einfiel": f. Private to "Einzel": z.

"einfiel" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVVC  ·  "Einzel" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einfieleifniel · einfeil · einffiel · einfiell · einfile · einifel · einnfiel · enifiel
  • Einzeleinezl · einnzel · einzell · einzle · einzzel · eiznel · enizel · ienzel

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "einfiel" and "Einzel" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "einfiel" is a verb and "Einzel" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "einfiel" vs "Einzel" - which ranks higher?
"Einzel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,164 in our German list, against #42,444 for "einfiel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "einfiel" and "Einzel" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "einfiel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Einzel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,205,048 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einfiel" and "Einzel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einfiel vs entfiel". 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 #1,205,048 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