Which to use
“einteilen” and “erteilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,523
- “einteilen” frequency rank
- #9,897
- “erteilen” frequency rank
- 35420
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | einteilen | erteilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas in mehrere Teile unterteilen | jemandem etwas zukommen lassen |
Where the eye mixes einteilen and erteilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. einteilen runs 9 letters (VVCCVVCVC) against erteilen's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: einteilen vs erteilen
A purely visual mix-up. einteilen ([ˈaɪ̯nˌtaɪ̯lən]) and erteilen ([ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯lən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35420, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
einteilen is recorded at frequency rank #25,523, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌtaɪ̯lən]. erteilen is at rank #9,897, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯lən].
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 35420, this pair ranks #1,640,441 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of einteilen vs erteilen
Shared letters: eilnt. Private to "einteilen": -. Private to "erteilen": r.
"einteilen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVVCVC · "erteilen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "einteilen" and "erteilen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "einteilen" or "erteilen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "einteilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erteilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,640,441 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "einteilen" and "erteilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einreihen vs einteilen". 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 #1,640,441 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.