EinteilungvsErteilungTell them apart

Which to use

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

#12,270
“Einteilung” frequency rank
#19,562
“Erteilung” frequency rank
31832
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Einteilung Erteilung
Definition das Einteilen von Dingen oder Menschen formelle Übergabe

Where the eye mixes Einteilung and Erteilung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Einteilung runs 10 letters (VVCCVVCVCC) against Erteilung's 9 (VCCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Einteilung
9 ch
Erteilung

Look-alike desk: Einteilung vs Erteilung

A purely visual mix-up. Einteilung ([ˈaɪ̯ntaɪ̯lʊŋ]) and Erteilung ([ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯lʊŋ]) 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 31832, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Einteilung is recorded at frequency rank #12,270, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ntaɪ̯lʊŋ]. Erteilung is at rank #19,562, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯lʊŋ].

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 31832, this pair ranks #1,720,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Einteilung vs Erteilung

Shared letters: egilntu. Private to "Einteilung": -. Private to "Erteilung": r.

"Einteilung" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVVCVCC  ·  "Erteilung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Einteilung ← einetilung · einnteilung · einteillung · einteilnug · einteilugn · einteilungg · einteilunng · einteiulng
  • Erteilung ← eretilung · errteilung · erteillung · erteilnug · erteilugn · erteilungg · erteilunng · erteiulng

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Einteilung" and "Erteilung" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯ntaɪ̯lʊŋ] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯lʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Einteilung" vs "Erteilung" - which ranks higher?
"Einteilung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,270 in our German list, against #19,562 for "Erteilung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Einteilung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Erteilung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,720,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Einteilung" and "Erteilung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Einteilung vs Einweisung". 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 #1,720,100 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