einzigvseinzigeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,953
“einzig” frequency rank
#564
“einzige” frequency rank
3517
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einzig einzige
Definition nur einmal vorhanden Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs einzig

Where the eye mixes einzig and einzige

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
einzig
7 ch
einzige

Look-alike desk: einzig vs einzige

A purely visual mix-up. einzig ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪç]) and einzige ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪɡə]) 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) - “einzig” sits inside “einzige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einzig is recorded at frequency rank #2,953, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪç]. einzige is at rank #564, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪɡə].

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 3517, this pair ranks #2,000,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einzig vs einzige

Shared letters: eginz. Private to "einzig": -. Private to "einzige": -.

"einzig" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC  ·  "einzige" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einzigeinizg · einnzig · einzgi · einzigg · einzzig · eiznig · enizig · ienzig
  • einzigeeinizge · einnzige · einzgie · einzieg · einzigge · einzzige · eiznige · enizige

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "einzig" and "einzige" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪç] versus [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "einzig" vs "einzige" - which ranks higher?
"einzige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #564 in our German list, against #2,953 for "einzig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "einzig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einzige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,000,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einzig" and "einzige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einzig vs einzog". 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 #2,000,036 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