Learn Hardcore German: Ich tippe mein neues Passwort langsam in das Passwortfeld ein, damit ich keinen Fehler mache. - I slowly type my new password into the password field so that I don’t make a mistake.

The base verb here is eintippen (to type in).
In a main clause with the verb in second position, it splits:
- Ich tippe … ein.
- tippe = finite verb in position 2
- ein = separable prefix moved to the end

In other tenses or structures, it behaves differently:

Infinitive: Ich will mein Passwort eintippen.
Perfect: Ich habe mein Passwort eingetippt.
Subordinate clause: …, weil ich mein Passwort eintippe. (still splits because it’s present; the finite verb goes to the end and keeps the prefix attached or split depending on tense and construction)

So tippe … ein is just the normal main-clause form of eintippen.

Why is it in das Passwortfeld ein and not just in das Passwortfeld?

The prefix ein- in eintippen literally has the sense of “in/into.” German often uses:

tippen
- in
  - object + ein

So the pattern is:

etwas in etwas (hinein) eintippen

In your sentence:

Ich tippe mein Passwort in das Passwortfeld ein.

This mirrors English “to type something into a field,” but German doubles that idea:

the preposition in
- accusative (in das Passwortfeld)
the separable prefix ein-

You could say only Ich tippe mein Passwort., but that loses the idea “into the field.”
You could also say Ich tippe mein Passwort ein., which keeps “into” in the verb but doesn’t specify where you’re typing it into.

Why is it in das Passwortfeld and not in dem Passwortfeld?

The preposition in can take accusative or dative, depending on meaning:

Accusative (wohin? – where to?) → movement into something
Dative (wo? – where?) → location, no movement

Here you are typing the password into the field (movement toward/inward):

in das Passwortfeld → accusative (direction)

Examples:

Ich schreibe in das Heft. (I write into the notebook – movement)
Ich schreibe in dem Heft. (I am writing in the notebook – location)

So in das Passwortfeld is correct because of the idea of entering text into the field.

Can I say ins Passwortfeld instead of in das Passwortfeld?

Yes. ins is just the contraction of in das:

in das Passwortfeld = ins Passwortfeld

Both are correct and common. ins sounds a bit more colloquial and is very typical in spoken and informal written German:

Ich tippe mein Passwort langsam ins Passwortfeld ein.

Why is it mein neues Passwort and not meinen neuen Passwort?

The form depends on gender and case:

Passwort is neuter: das Passwort
In this sentence, it is a direct object → accusative case
For a neuter noun in the accusative with a possessive determiner (mein), the adjective ending is -es and the determiner has no extra ending:

Pattern (neuter, accusative, with possessive):

mein neu
- ending
→ mein neues Passwort

If it were masculine, you’d get:

mein neuer Computer (nom.) → meinen neuen Computer (acc.)

So:

neuter acc.: mein neues Passwort
masculine acc.: meinen neuen Computer

Why does neues end in -es here?

Adjective endings in German show gender, case, and number. Here:

Passwort = neuter
Function: direct object → accusative
Determiner type: mein (a “der‑word” substitute; it behaves like an article)

For neuter, accusative, with a der‑word/possessive, the adjective takes -es:

das neue Passwort
mein neues Passwort
sein neues Passwort

So -es is simply the correct adjective ending for neuter accusative in this context.

Why is it keinen Fehler instead of kein Fehler?

Again, this is about case and gender:

Fehler is masculine: der Fehler
In damit ich keinen Fehler mache, Fehler is the direct object of mache → accusative.

Masculine, accusative with kein:

kein → keinen

Compare:

Nominative:
- ein Fehler, kein Fehler, mein Fehler
Accusative:
- einen Fehler, keinen Fehler, meinen Fehler

So keinen Fehler is the correct masculine accusative form.

What does damit do here, and how is it different from um … zu?

damit introduces a subordinate clause of purpose (“so that / in order that”).

…, damit ich keinen Fehler mache.
→ expresses the goal or reason for typing slowly.

Difference to um … zu:

damit is followed by a full clause with a subject and a conjugated verb:
- damit ich keinen Fehler mache
um … zu is followed by an infinitive clause, without a separate subject (it normally shares the subject with the main clause):
- …, um keinen Fehler zu machen.

In your sentence you could say:

Ich tippe mein neues Passwort langsam ein, um keinen Fehler zu machen.
(same subject “ich” in both parts)

Both are correct here. damit often sounds a bit more explicit and can more easily be used when the subjects are different:

Ich tippe mein Passwort langsam ein, damit du es lesen kannst.
(cannot use um … zu here because the subject changes ich → du)

Why is the verb at the end in damit ich keinen Fehler mache?

German subordinate clauses (Nebensätze) introduced by subordinating conjunctions like dass, weil, wenn, damit, obwohl have the conjugated verb at the end.

Pattern:

[conjunction] + subject + (objects, adverbs, etc.) + conjugated verb

So:

damit – conjunction
ich – subject
keinen Fehler – object
mache – conjugated verb at the end

Compare:

Main clause: Ich mache keinen Fehler. (verb in 2nd position)
Subordinate: …, damit ich keinen Fehler mache. (verb at the end)

Why is langsam placed after mein neues Passwort and not at the end?

German adverbs have fairly flexible positions, but there are tendencies.

In your sentence:

Ich tippe mein neues Passwort langsam in das Passwortfeld ein …

Here langsam (how?) modifies tippe. A common and natural position is:

Subject – finite verb – (objects) – adverbs – more complements – prefix

So we get:

Ich (subject)
tippe (verb)
mein neues Passwort (direct object)
langsam (manner adverb)
in das Passwortfeld (prepositional complement)
ein (prefix)

Other positions are possible, but less neutral:

Ich tippe langsam mein neues Passwort in das Passwortfeld ein. (also okay; slightly different emphasis)
Ich tippe mein neues Passwort in das Passwortfeld langsam ein. (sounds odd here; closer to “I type it into the field slowly,” focus on the field)

The given order sounds very natural and neutral in German.

Could I just say Ich tippe mein Passwort ein? What’s the difference?

Yes:

Ich tippe mein Passwort ein.

This is perfectly correct and means “I type in my password.” The difference is:

Ich tippe mein Passwort ein. – you’re entering your password somewhere, but it’s not specified where.
Ich tippe mein Passwort in das Passwortfeld ein. – explicitly says where you’re entering it (into the password field).

So the original sentence is just more specific.

What is the difference between tippen, eintippen, and eingeben?

All three appear in computer contexts, but with different shades of meaning:

tippen
- to type (physically pressing keys)
- Focus: the physical action
- Ich tippe schnell. – I type fast.
eintippen
- to type something into a device/field
- Often with an object and (optionally) where it goes:
- Ich tippe mein Passwort (in das Feld) ein.
- Has a clearer “inputting into” nuance than plain tippen.
eingeben
- to enter / to input (more technical/formal)
- Used a lot in instructions and UI text:
- Bitte geben Sie Ihr Passwort ein. – Please enter your password.

In your sentence, eintippen (split as tippe … ein) is very natural, especially in spoken language. eingeben would sound a bit more neutral/technical:

Ich gebe mein neues Passwort langsam in das Passwortfeld ein, damit ich keinen Fehler mache.

Why is it Ich tippe (simple present) even though in English we say “I am typing”?

German does not have a separate grammatical form for the progressive (like English “I am typing”).

The simple present in German (Präsens) covers:

English simple present: Ich tippe jeden Tag. – I type every day.
English present progressive: Ich tippe gerade. – I am typing (right now).

So Ich tippe mein neues Passwort … naturally corresponds to “I am typing my new password …” from context, even though grammatically it’s just the simple present. If you really want to stress “right now,” you can add gerade:

Ich tippe gerade mein neues Passwort in das Passwortfeld ein.