EnzymvsenzymeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#28,629
“Enzym” frequency rank
#25,527
“enzyme” frequency rank
54156
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Enzym enzyme
Definition ein Protein, das als Katalysator fungiert, also chemische Reaktionen beschleunigt oder überhaupt erst ermöglicht Enzym

Where the eye mixes Enzym and enzyme

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Enzym
6 ch
enzyme

Visual trap between Enzym and enzyme

A purely visual mix-up. Enzym ([ɛnˈt͡syːm]) and enzyme ([ˈɛnzaɪm]) 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) - “Enzym” sits inside “enzyme”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54156, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Enzym is recorded at frequency rank #28,629, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛnˈt͡syːm]. enzyme is at rank #25,527, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛnzaɪm].

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 54156, this pair ranks #1,029,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Enzym vs enzyme

Shared letters: emnyz. Private to "Enzym": -. Private to "enzyme": -.

"Enzym" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "enzyme" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Enzymennzym · enyzm · enzmy · enzymm · enzyym · enzzym · eznym · nezym
  • enzymeennzyme · enyzme · enzmye · enzyem · enzymme · enzyyme · enzzyme · eznyme

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Enzym" and "enzyme" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛnˈt͡syːm] versus [ˈɛnzaɪm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Enzym" vs "enzyme" - which ranks higher?
"enzyme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,527 in our German list, against #28,629 for "Enzym". 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 "Enzym" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "enzyme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,029,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Enzym" and "enzyme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Enz vs Enzym". 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 #1,029,906 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