einführenvseinzuführenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,701
“einführen” frequency rank
#10,847
“einzuführen” frequency rank
19548
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einführen einzuführen
Definition eine Ware über eine Grenze in ein Land/Gebiet bringen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs einführen

Where the eye mixes einführen and einzuführen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. einführen runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against einzuführen's 11 (VVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
einführen
11 ch
einzuführen

Look-alike desk: einführen vs einzuführen

A purely visual mix-up. einführen ([ˈaɪ̯nˌfyːʁən]) and einzuführen ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌfyːʁən]) 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 19548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einführen is recorded at frequency rank #8,701, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌfyːʁən]. einzuführen is at rank #10,847, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌfyːʁən].

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 19548, this pair ranks #1,907,188 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einführen vs einzuführen

Shared letters: efhinrü. Private to "einführen": -. Private to "einzuführen": uz.

"einführen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC  ·  "einzuführen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "einführen" for "einzuführen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nˌfyːʁən] versus [ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌfyːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "einführen" or "einzuführen"?
"einführen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,701 in our German list, against #10,847 for "einzuführen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "einführen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einzuführen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,907,188 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einführen" and "einzuführen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einführen vs einkehren". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,907,188 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