Which to use
“eingreifen” and “einzugreifen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,162
- “eingreifen” frequency rank
- #22,693
- “einzugreifen” frequency rank
- 29855
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eingreifen | einzugreifen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Handlung oder Entwicklung (an der man nicht direkt beteiligt ist) lenken, stören oder stoppen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs eingreifen |
Where the eye mixes eingreifen and einzugreifen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. eingreifen runs 10 letters (VVCCCVVCVC) against einzugreifen's 12 (VVCCVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses eingreifen with einzugreifen
A purely visual mix-up. eingreifen ([ˈaɪ̯nˌɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]) and einzugreifen ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]) 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 29855, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eingreifen is recorded at frequency rank #7,162, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]. einzugreifen is at rank #22,693, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌɡʁaɪ̯fn̩].
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 29855, this pair ranks #1,758,990 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eingreifen vs einzugreifen
Shared letters: efginr. Private to "eingreifen": -. Private to "einzugreifen": uz.
"eingreifen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVC · "einzugreifen" · 12 letters · shape VVCCVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- eingreifen ← eignreifen · eingerifen · einggreifen · eingrefien · eingreiefn · eingreifenn · eingreiffen · eingreifne
- einzugreifen ← einnzugreifen · einuzgreifen · einzgureifen · einzugerifen · einzuggreifen · einzugrefien · einzugreiefn · einzugreifenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "eingreifen" and "einzugreifen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "eingreifen" or "einzugreifen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "eingreifen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "einzugreifen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,758,990 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eingreifen" and "einzugreifen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eingreifen vs einreihen". 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 #1,758,990 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.