einzigvseinzigerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,953
“einzig” frequency rank
#3,433
“einziger” frequency rank
6386
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einzig einziger
Definition nur einmal vorhanden Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs einzig

Where the eye mixes einzig and einziger

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

6 ch
einzig
8 ch
einziger

Visual trap between einzig and einziger

A purely visual mix-up. einzig ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪç]) and einziger ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪɡɐ]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “einzig” sits inside “einziger”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6386, 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]. einziger is at rank #3,433, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪɡɐ].

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 6386, this pair ranks #1,991,825 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einzig vs einziger

Shared letters: eginz. Private to "einzig": -. Private to "einziger": r.

"einzig" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC  ·  "einziger" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einzigeinizg · einnzig · einzgi · einzigg · einzzig · eiznig · enizig · ienzig
  • einzigereinizger · einnziger · einzgier · einziegr · einzigerr · einzigger · einzigre · einzziger

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "einzig" for "einziger" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪç] versus [ˈaɪ̯nt͡sɪɡɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "einzig" vs "einziger" - which ranks higher?
"einzig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,953 in our German list, against #3,433 for "einziger". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "einzig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einziger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,991,825 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einzig" and "einziger" 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 #1,991,825 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