einsamevseinsamenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#13,346
“einsame” frequency rank
#14,789
“einsamen” frequency rank
28135
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einsame einsamen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs einsam Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs einsam

Where the eye mixes einsame and einsamen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. einsame runs 7 letters (VVCCVCV) against einsamen's 8 (VVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
einsame
8 ch
einsamen

Why the eye confuses einsame with einsamen

A purely visual mix-up. einsame ([ˈaɪ̯nzaːmə]) and einsamen ([ˈaɪ̯nzaːmən]) 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) - “einsame” sits inside “einsamen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28135, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einsame is recorded at frequency rank #13,346, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nzaːmə]. einsamen is at rank #14,789, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nzaːmən].

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 28135, this pair ranks #1,789,956 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einsame vs einsamen

Shared letters: aeimns. Private to "einsame": -. Private to "einsamen": -.

"einsame" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCV  ·  "einsamen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einsame ← einasme · einnsame · einsaem · einsamme · einsmae · einssame · eisname · enisame
  • einsamen ← einasmen · einnsamen · einsaemn · einsamenn · einsammen · einsamne · einsmaen · einssamen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "einsame" for "einsamen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nzaːmə] versus [ˈaɪ̯nzaːmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "einsame" or "einsamen"?
"einsame" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,346 in our German list, against #14,789 for "einsamen". 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 "einsame" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einsamen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,789,956 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einsame" and "einsamen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eindämmen vs einsamen". 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 #1,789,956 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