Which to use
“eben” is an adjective and “ebnen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #357
- “eben” frequency rank
- #41,123
- “ebnen” frequency rank
- 41480
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eben | ebnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | parallel zu einer gleichmäßig flachen Erdoberfläche; horizontal verlaufend, liegend; waagerecht | etwas auf eine Ebene oder die gleiche Höhe bringen; eben machen |
Where the eye mixes eben and ebnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: eben vs ebnen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eben is [ˈeːbn̩] while ebnen is [ˈeːbnən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41480, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eben is recorded at frequency rank #357, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːbn̩]. ebnen is at rank #41,123, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈeːbnən].
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 41480, this pair ranks #1,478,134 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of eben vs ebnen
Shared letters: ben. Private to "eben": -. Private to "ebnen": -.
"eben" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "ebnen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "eben" and "ebnen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "eben" or "ebnen" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "eben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ebnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,478,134 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eben" and "ebnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ebnen vs Eupen". 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 #1,478,134 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.