einfordernvseinzufordernWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#24,309
“einfordern” frequency rank
#38,703
“einzufordern” frequency rank
63012
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einfordern einzufordern
Definition etwas mit Nachdruck fordern erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs einfordern

Where the eye mixes einfordern and einzufordern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. einfordern runs 10 letters (VVCCVCCVCC) against einzufordern's 12 (VVCCVCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
einfordern
12 ch
einzufordern

Visual trap between einfordern and einzufordern

A purely visual mix-up. einfordern ([ˈaɪ̯nˌfɔʁdɐn]) and einzufordern ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌfɔʁdɐn]) 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 63012, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einfordern is recorded at frequency rank #24,309, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌfɔʁdɐn]. einzufordern is at rank #38,703, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌfɔʁdɐn].

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 63012, this pair ranks #691,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of einfordern vs einzufordern

Shared letters: definor. Private to "einfordern": -. Private to "einzufordern": uz.

"einfordern" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCC  ·  "einzufordern" · 12 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einfordern ← eifnordern · einffordern · einfodrern · einforddern · einfordenr · einfordernn · einforderrn · einfordren
  • einzufordern ← einnzufordern · einuzfordern · einzfuordern · einzuffordern · einzufodrern · einzuforddern · einzufordenr · einzufordernn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "einfordern" for "einzufordern" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nˌfɔʁdɐn] versus [ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌfɔʁdɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "einfordern" vs "einzufordern" - which ranks higher?
"einfordern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,309 in our German list, against #38,703 for "einzufordern". 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 "einfordern" and "einzufordern" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "einfordern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einzufordern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #691,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einfordern" and "einzufordern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einfordern vs erfordern". 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 #691,974 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