Which to use
“ebnen” and “eignen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,123
- “ebnen” frequency rank
- #7,034
- “eignen” frequency rank
- 48157
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ebnen | eignen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas auf eine Ebene oder die gleiche Höhe bringen; eben machen | für einen Einsatz, eine Funktion benötigte Eigenschaften oder Fähigkeiten besitzen |
Where the eye mixes ebnen and eignen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between ebnen and eignen
A purely visual mix-up. ebnen ([ˈeːbnən]) and eignen ([ˈaɪ̯ɡnən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48157, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ebnen is recorded at frequency rank #41,123, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈeːbnən]. eignen is at rank #7,034, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡnən].
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 48157, this pair ranks #1,258,760 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ebnen vs eignen
Shared letters: en. Private to "ebnen": b. Private to "eignen": gi.
"ebnen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "eignen" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ebnen" for "eignen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ebnen" or "eignen"?
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 "ebnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "eignen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,258,760 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ebnen" and "eignen" 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 #1,258,760 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.