einvseinerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ein is a noun, einer is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ein” is a noun and “einer” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,865
“ein” frequency rank
#48,484
“einer” frequency rank
65349
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ein einer
Definition Variante de haim. Génitif féminin singulier de la déclinaison forte de ein.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ein and einer apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ein
5 ch
einer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ein is \ɛ̃\ while einer is \ˈaɪ̯nɐ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ein” sits inside “einer”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65349, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ein is recorded at frequency rank #16,865, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃\. einer is at rank #48,484, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ˈaɪ̯nɐ\.

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 65349, this pair ranks #72,797 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ein vs einer

Shared letters: ein. Private to "ein": -. Private to "einer": r.

"ein" · 3 letters · shape VVC  ·  "einer" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einereienr · einerr · einner · einre · enier · iener

Frequency comparison

ein#16,865
einer#48,484

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ein" and "einer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ein" is a noun and "einer" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ein" or "einer"?
"ein" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,865 in our French list, against #48,484 for "einer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ein vs einer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “ein”; for an adjective, it's “einer”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ein” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list