einzelnvseinzelneWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,871
“einzeln” frequency rank
#1,546
“einzelne” frequency rank
6417
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einzeln einzelne
Definition alleine seiend; nur eins von mehreren Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs einzeln

Where the eye mixes einzeln and einzelne

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

7 ch
einzeln
8 ch
einzelne

Why the eye confuses einzeln with einzelne

A purely visual mix-up. einzeln ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡sl̩n]) and einzelne ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡sl̩nə]) 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) - “einzeln” sits inside “einzelne”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6417, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einzeln is recorded at frequency rank #4,871, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sl̩n]. einzelne is at rank #1,546, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sl̩nə].

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 6417, this pair ranks #1,991,708 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einzeln vs einzelne

Shared letters: eilnz. Private to "einzeln": -. Private to "einzelne": -.

"einzeln" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCC  ·  "einzelne" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einzeln ← einezln · einnzeln · einzelln · einzelnn · einzenl · einzlen · einzzeln · eizneln
  • einzelne ← einezlne · einnzelne · einzelen · einzellne · einzenle · einzlene · einzzelne · eiznelne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "einzeln" and "einzelne" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡sl̩n] versus [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sl̩nə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "einzeln" vs "einzelne" - which ranks higher?
"einzelne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,546 in our German list, against #4,871 for "einzeln". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "einzeln" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einzelne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,991,708 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einzeln" and "einzelne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Eicheln vs einzeln". 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 #1,991,708 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