einmaligvseinmaligeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#10,638
“einmalig” frequency rank
#10,460
“einmalige” frequency rank
21098
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einmalig einmalige
Definition so, dass es nur einmal vorkommt oder stattfindet Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs einmalig

Where the eye mixes einmalig and einmalige

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
einmalig
9 ch
einmalige

Why the eye confuses einmalig with einmalige

A purely visual mix-up. einmalig ([ˈaɪ̯nˌmaːlɪç]) and einmalige ([ˈaɪ̯nˌmaːlɪɡə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “einmalig” sits inside “einmalige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21098, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einmalig is recorded at frequency rank #10,638, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌmaːlɪç]. einmalige is at rank #10,460, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌmaːlɪɡə].

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 21098, this pair ranks #1,890,184 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einmalig vs einmalige

Shared letters: aegilmn. Private to "einmalig": -. Private to "einmalige": -.

"einmalig" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "einmalige" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einmaligeimnalig · einamlig · einmailg · einmalgi · einmaligg · einmallig · einmlaig · einmmalig
  • einmaligeeimnalige · einamlige · einmailge · einmalgie · einmalieg · einmaligge · einmallige · einmlaige

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "einmalig" for "einmalige" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nˌmaːlɪç] versus [ˈaɪ̯nˌmaːlɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "einmalig" or "einmalige"?
"einmalige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,460 in our German list, against #10,638 for "einmalig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "einmalig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einmalige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,890,184 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einmalig" and "einmalige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einmalig vs einmaliger". 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 #1,890,184 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