Which to use
“echten” is an adjective and “ehren” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,539
- “echten” frequency rank
- #3,882
- “ehren” frequency rank
- 6421
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | echten | ehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs echt | jemanden hoch schätzen; Hochachtung zeigen |
Where the eye mixes echten and ehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between echten and ehren
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: echten is [ˈɛçtn̩] while ehren is [ˈeːʁən]. 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 6421, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
echten is recorded at frequency rank #2,539, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛçtn̩]. ehren is at rank #3,882, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈeːʁən].
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 6421, this pair ranks #1,991,696 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of echten vs ehren
Shared letters: ehn. Private to "echten": ct. Private to "ehren": r.
"echten" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC · "ehren" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "echten" and "ehren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "echten" vs "ehren" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "echten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,991,696 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "echten" and "ehren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ehren 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 #1,991,696 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.