eingreiftvsergreiftTell them apart

Which to use

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

#31,017
“eingreift” frequency rank
#17,873
“ergreift” frequency rank
48890
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eingreift ergreift
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs eingreifen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ergreifen

Where the eye mixes eingreift and ergreift

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. eingreift runs 9 letters (VVCCCVVCC) against ergreift's 8 (VCCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
eingreift
8 ch
ergreift

Look-alike desk: eingreift vs ergreift

A purely visual mix-up. eingreift ([ˈaɪ̯nˌɡʁaɪ̯ft]) and ergreift ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯ft]) 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 48890, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eingreift is recorded at frequency rank #31,017, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌɡʁaɪ̯ft]. ergreift is at rank #17,873, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯ft].

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 48890, this pair ranks #1,231,744 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of eingreift vs ergreift

Shared letters: efgirt. Private to "eingreift": n. Private to "ergreift": -.

"eingreift" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVVCC  ·  "ergreift" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eingreift ← eignreift · eingerift · einggreift · eingrefit · eingreifft · eingreiftt · eingreitf · eingrieft
  • ergreift ← egrreift · ergerift · erggreift · ergrefit · ergreifft · ergreiftt · ergreitf · ergrieft

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eingreift" and "ergreift" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nˌɡʁaɪ̯ft] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯ft]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "eingreift" vs "ergreift" - which ranks higher?
"ergreift" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,873 in our German list, against #31,017 for "eingreift". 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 "eingreift" and "ergreift" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "eingreift" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ergreift" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,231,744 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "eingreift" and "ergreift" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eingreifen vs eingreift". 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 #1,231,744 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