einigevseinzigeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: einige is a num, einzige is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#265
“einige” frequency rank
#564
“einzige” frequency rank
829
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einige einzige
Definition mehrere Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs einzig

Where the eye mixes einige and einzige

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
einige
7 ch
einzige

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: einige is [ˈaɪ̯nɪɡə] while einzige is [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪɡə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 829, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einige is recorded at frequency rank #265, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nɪɡə]. einzige is at rank #564, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪɡə].

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 829, this pair ranks #2,005,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einige vs einzige

Shared letters: egin. Private to "einige": -. Private to "einzige": z.

"einige" · 6 letters · shape VVCVCV  ·  "einzige" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einigeeiinge · eingie · einieg · einigge · einnige · eniige · ienige
  • einzigeeinizge · einnzige · einzgie · einzieg · einzigge · einzzige · eiznige · enizige

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "einige" and "einzige" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "einige" is a num and "einzige" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "einige" or "einzige"?
"einige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #265 in our German list, against #564 for "einzige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "einige" and "einzige". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "einige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einzige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,005,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einige" and "einzige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einzige vs einzog". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list