Which to use
“eingreifen” and “ergreifen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,162
- “eingreifen” frequency rank
- #8,552
- “ergreifen” frequency rank
- 15714
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eingreifen | ergreifen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Handlung oder Entwicklung (an der man nicht direkt beteiligt ist) lenken, stören oder stoppen | mit den Händen anfassen, festhalten, nach etwas greifen |
Where the eye mixes eingreifen and ergreifen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. eingreifen runs 10 letters (VVCCCVVCVC) against ergreifen's 9 (VCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses eingreifen with ergreifen
A purely visual mix-up. eingreifen ([ˈaɪ̯nˌɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]) and ergreifen ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15714, 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]. ergreifen is at rank #8,552, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯fn̩].
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 15714, this pair ranks #1,941,736 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eingreifen vs ergreifen
Shared letters: efginr. Private to "eingreifen": -. Private to "ergreifen": -.
"eingreifen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVC · "ergreifen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- eingreifen ← eignreifen · eingerifen · einggreifen · eingrefien · eingreiefn · eingreifenn · eingreiffen · eingreifne
- ergreifen ← egrreifen · ergerifen · erggreifen · ergrefien · ergreiefn · ergreifenn · ergreiffen · ergreifne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "eingreifen" and "ergreifen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "eingreifen" or "ergreifen"?
Useful next steps
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 "ergreifen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,941,736 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eingreifen" and "ergreifen" 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 #1,941,736 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.