Which to use
“einmal” is an adverb and “einsam” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #204
- “einmal” frequency rank
- #7,458
- “einsam” frequency rank
- 7662
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | einmal | einsam |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht wiederholt | ohne Gesellschaft, ohne Kontakt zu anderen Menschen oder der Umwelt |
Where the eye mixes einmal and einsam
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: einmal vs einsam
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: einmal is [ˈaɪ̯nmaːl] while einsam is [ˈaɪ̯nzaːm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7662, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
einmal is recorded at frequency rank #204, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nmaːl]. einsam is at rank #7,458, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nzaːm].
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 7662, this pair ranks #1,987,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of einmal vs einsam
Shared letters: aeimn. Private to "einmal": l. Private to "einsam": s.
"einmal" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC · "einsam" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "einmal" and "einsam" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "einmal" or "einsam"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "einmal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "einsam" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,987,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "einmal" and "einsam" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einnahm vs einsam". 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 #1,987,374 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.