einige vs einigten, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“einige” is a num and “einigten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#265
“einige” frequency rank: #25,974
“einigten” frequency rank: 26239
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	einige	einigten
Definition	mehrere	1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs einigen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set einige and einigten apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

einige

8 ch

einigten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: einige is [ˈaɪ̯nɪɡə] while einigten is [ˈaɪ̯nɪçtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26239, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einige is recorded at frequency rank #265, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nɪɡə]. einigten is at rank #25,974, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nɪçtn̩].

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 26239, this pair ranks #1,821,119 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einige vs einigten

Shared letters: egin. Private to "einige": -. Private to "einigten": t.

"einige" · 6 letters · shape VVCVCV · "einigten" · 8 letters · shape VVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

einige ← eiinge · eingie · einieg · einigge · einnige · eniige · ienige
einigten ← eiingten · eingiten · einigetn · einiggten · einigtenn · einigtne · einigtten · einitgen

Frequency comparison

einige#265

einigten#25,974

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "einige" and "einigten" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "einige" is a num and "einigten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "einige" or "einigten"?

"einige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #265 in our German list, against #25,974 for "einigten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering einige vs einigten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “einige”; for a verb, it's “einigten”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “einige” entry
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