einholenvseinzuholenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,802
“einholen” frequency rank
#21,585
“einzuholen” frequency rank
35387
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einholen einzuholen
Definition das Versäumte oder Verlorene wieder aufholen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs einholen

Where the eye mixes einholen and einzuholen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. einholen runs 8 letters (VVCCVCVC) against einzuholen's 10 (VVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
einholen
10 ch
einzuholen

Visual trap between einholen and einzuholen

A purely visual mix-up. einholen ([ˈaɪ̯nˌhoːlən]) and einzuholen ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌhoːlən]) 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 35387, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einholen is recorded at frequency rank #13,802, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌhoːlən]. einzuholen is at rank #21,585, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌhoːlən].

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 35387, this pair ranks #1,641,213 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einholen vs einzuholen

Shared letters: ehilno. Private to "einholen": -. Private to "einzuholen": uz.

"einholen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "einzuholen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einholen ← eihnolen · einhholen · einhloen · einhoeln · einholenn · einhollen · einholne · einnholen
  • einzuholen ← einnzuholen · einuzholen · einzhuolen · einzuhholen · einzuhloen · einzuhoeln · einzuholenn · einzuhollen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "einholen" and "einzuholen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nˌhoːlən] versus [ˈaɪ̯nt͡suˌhoːlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "einholen" or "einzuholen"?
"einholen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,802 in our German list, against #21,585 for "einzuholen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "einholen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einzuholen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,641,213 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einholen" and "einzuholen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Eindhoven vs einholen". 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 #1,641,213 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